


it started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this? (it was only a kiss, it was only a kiss)

by movingforthesakeofmotion



Category: Power Rangers (2017), Wonder Woman (2017)
Genre: F/F, TW: Eating Disorder, TW: Homophobia, and also i like the idea of there being an au with an au? i'm an idiot i honestly don't know, anyway here's another 'diana as trini's mom' au!, everyone is normal af basically, honestly i don't even know, no rangers/no justice league au, this just came to me out of nowhere
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-01-21 07:57:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 49,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12452997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/movingforthesakeofmotion/pseuds/movingforthesakeofmotion
Summary: "Her lips taste like vodka and watermelon.It’s the first thing Trini Prince registers when Kimberly Hart’s lips press against hers, soft and light, chapped, which Trini thinks must be why she tastes some kind of watermelon chap stick amongst the aroma of alcohol."AKA, the 'No Power Rangers/No Justice League' AU of the 'Diana as Trini's mom' AU that I wrote earlier this year, because I can't seem to let the idea go. Also, Trimberly. Because I can't let them go either.PREVIOUSLY TITLED "There's a hope that's waiting for you in the dark (you should know you're beautiful just the way you are)"





	1. I'm sorry but I fell in love tonight, I didn't mean to fall in love tonight (can we pretend that we're in love?)

**Author's Note:**

> Fic title from "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from "Is There Somewhere?" By Halsey. 
> 
> BACK AT IT AGAIN WITH THE DIANA/TRINI AU?!?!
> 
> I don't know where this came from, but I like it, so I'm gonna go with it!
> 
> Don't worry, a prequel to the original Diana/Trini AU is still coming! I just need something else to write! And this is what I've got!
> 
> As always, you can check for updates on my tumblr at movinggforthesakeofmotion.tumblr.com, and as always, comments are appreciated!

Her lips taste like vodka and watermelon.

 

It’s the first thing Trini Prince registers when Kimberly Hart’s lips press against hers, soft and light, chapped, which Trini thinks must be why she tastes some kind of watermelon chap stick amongst the aroma of alcohol. 

 

Kimberly’s drunk, stumbling, reaches out and twists her fingers into Trini’s shirt to steady herself, and Trini grips onto her waist, fingers digging into the bare, heated skin between her crop top and her high waisted skirt, finds her foot falling and catching onto the step behind her, and Kimberly follows her, doesn’t break, lips still seeking the warmth of Trini’s as a small giggle leaves her.

 

She finds this fun.

 

Trini finds this heart stopping, life altering, dangerously addictive. 

 

She can hear the people watching them on the stairs cheering, Kimberly’s name being chanted, and Kimberly’s hands move up to cup Trini’s face, thumbs brushing over her cheekbones. Trini finds her whole body buzzing with electricity as she finally responds, deepens the kiss and clutches Kimberly’s waist, pulling her closer as Kimberly whines against her, tongue brushing against her bottom lip, and Trini’s head is spinning, but she can’t stop-

 

Kimberly finally breaks free from Trini after what feels like a lifetime, a sharp intake of breath escaping from both of them as Kimberly rests her forehead against Trini’s, breathes against her shallowly as Trini attempts to swallow the lump in her throat (that she’s pretty sure is her heart) down. 

 

“Sorry, they’ve been daring me to kiss a girl all night.” She says shakily, drunken hiccups stunting her speech as her nails dig into Trini’s forearm to steady herself. 

 

Trini’s jaw clenches, a small nod, a deep breath, and a light smile.

 

“It’s fine.” She croaks out. 

 

“WOO!” Kimberly turns to the adoring crowd watching her, raises a hand in victory as she cheers, the crowd roaring with praise and Trini finally manages to detach herself as she makes her way up the stairs in a numb daze.

 

“Hey, wait!” A hand grips hers, cold fingers against warm ones, and Trini turns to see Kimberly Hart in all her stunning glory, the light above them lighting her face as Trini stares down at her.

 

Flushed cheeks, brown eyes filled with pride and the high of the cheering crowd, brown curls cascading down to her stomach, Trini’s positive she’s never seen anyone as beautiful.

 

Wait, where did that thought come from-?

 

“Where you going? They love it!” Kimberly breathes, lips curling up into a smile, and Trini bites her lip.

 

“I…”

 

“Hell yeah, Kimberly! Ten points!” Amanda Clarke’s face pops up beside Kimberly’s shoulder, and Kimberly turns to her, and Trini takes the distraction as an opportunity-

 

“Hey, wait!” 

 

Kimberly’s hand is still wrapped in hers.

 

And when Trini turns, Amanda Clarke is grinning at her.

 

“Come on, new girl, it was just a kiss!” She says.

 

Trini ignores her, yanks her hand out of Kimberly’s touch and makes her way up the stairs again, hears Kimberly’s crowd of adoring fans cheering loudly still as she heads for the nearest room and shuts herself into it.

 

She looks around the room, revels in the bass booming from the speakers somewhere down below her in this house she’s never been in before, this room she’s never been in before. 

 

One look at the photos on the mirror tells her this is Amanda Clarke’s room.

 

Trini heads straight for the window, shoves it up before pulling the cigarettes in her pocket out and lighting one with shaking hands.

 

She didn’t even want to come to this party. 

 

Her best friend, Zack, had been insistent, telling her that it was the party of the year and that they absolutely HAD to go.

 

Amanda Clarke was the head bitch in charge at Angel Grove High School, and the fact that she had invited the entire school to her party was apparently an opportunity that could not be missed. 

 

Trini’s never liked parties. Well, that’s not entirely true, she’s never been invited to one, but Trini doesn’t mind being a fly on the wall, especially in High School, and especially when she’s been shifted around from state to state because of her mother’s job. 

 

But Zack had no one else, and Trini, despite his consistent annoyance, loves him. He’s her best friend. So she’d grudgingly come along.

 

She had not expected, however, to get kissed by Amanda Clarke’s best friend and other head bitch in charge at Angel Grove High School, Kimberly Hart, on her way to the bathroom at this party. 

 

Again, fly on the wall.

 

She’d lost Zack about an hour into the party, his raucous cheers moving out of her range of hearing some time ago, and Trini had been looking for an excuse to get away for a while when she’d figured she’d try the stairs.

 

She really shouldn’t have tried the stairs.

 

Why did Kimberly target her? Did Kimberly possibly know about her?

 

It couldn’t be.

 

No one knew.

 

Only Zack, but Zack would never open his mouth about it, would never hurt her in this way, wouldn’t tell a soul about her being-

 

A bang against the door interrupts her thoughts, and Trini jumps and almost drops her cigarette out of the window as she turns and sees Zack at the doorway, his eyes wide as he shuts the door behind him and looks at her with a grin.

 

“Dude! Did you seriously just make out with Kimberly Hart?” Trini groans, and Zack takes that as confirmation, jumps up and claps his hands as he cheers before rushing over to her and taking the cigarette from her hands to take a drag. 

 

“Everyone’s talking about it downstairs! I thought they were joking!” He says with a grin, blowing the smoke out of the window as he does, and Trini glares at him. 

 

“Did you tell her I’m gay?” She growls. Zack’s grin drops immediately.

 

“What? No, no fucking way! Trini, she probably just grabbed the first girl she could find, they’re playing some stupid game to see how many people they can kiss, apparently a girl is worth ten points or something…I’ve made out with five cheerleaders tonight, it’s been fucking great!” 

 

Trini sighs, takes a drag from her cigarette and blows it out of the window as Zack bounces with energy against the window sill they’re sitting on.

 

“So…how was she?” Trini groans.

 

“Don’t, Zack.”

 

“Oh come on! She’s the most popular girl in school, I gotta know if she’s a good kisser!” Trini scratches her forehead absentmindedly.

 

“I don’t know, my brain wasn’t really functioning beyond the thought of ‘holy shit a girl is kissing me’.” Trini deadpans. 

 

“You’re acting like a girl has never kissed you before.” Zack says with a roll of his eyes.

 

“Not one as pretty as her, no.” Trini says simply. Zack blinks.

 

“I didn’t know you liked Kimberly Hart!” He shouts, and Trini punches him hard in the thigh, causing him to wince in pain.

 

“Ow!” He hisses. 

 

“Keep your voice down! And I don’t!” She growls. Zack pouts, still rubbing his thigh as he shrugs. 

 

“Well then, why are you wigging out?” Trini purses her lips, and Zack takes her cigarette again.

 

“I kissed her back, Zack.” 

 

“So?”

 

“So…what if they catch on?” Trini says, her voice small as the thought itself has her throat closing up and her heart racing. Zack frowns.

 

“You can always just say you were playing along…”

 

“I ran out of there as soon as I could, I…shit, Zack, what do I do?” Trini’s trying her best not to cry, and Zack can tell, because he clears his throat and nods once.

 

“Alright, fuck it, you wanna head out?” He asks.

 

“It isn’t even midnight.” Trini says with a chuckle, blinking rapidly to expel the tears threatening to fall. Zack shrugs.

 

“There’ll be other parties, and I don’t wanna torture you by staying. Besides, if we leave now, Mama Prince can still pick us up, which means I get to ride in the Ferrari.” He says, waggling his eyebrows, and Trini rolls her eyes.

 

“You and the fucking Ferrari.” She says, taking the last drag and blowing the smoke out before throwing the cigarette out of the window. 

 

“It’s a Ferrari, Trini!” She grins and makes her way over to Amanda Clarke’s nightstand, fingers brushing over the line of perfumes before she grabs one and sprays it all over herself.

 

“Spray me!” Zack says, skipping over to her, and Trini sprays the air as he runs through it with a grin.

 

“Do we still smell like smoke?”

 

“We’ll find out when your mom kicks our asses.” 

 

“I swear she has the nose of a bloodhound.” Trini mutters, pulling her phone out of her pocket and texting her mother to come pick them up. 

 

A reply comes seconds later.

 

**Mama <3 (1) **  
_Is Zack sleeping over?_

 

“You sleeping over?” 

 

“Yeah, but can we go see mom at the Hospital tomorrow morning?”

 

Trini quickly texts her mother back with a reply, and again, within seconds, her mother replies.

 

**Mama <3 (1) **  
_Of course we can. I’ll be there in ten._

 

There’s about five kissy face emoji’s after it, and Trini smiles softly as Zack looks over her shoulder.

 

“You know those are for me, right?” 

 

“Fuck off.” Trini laughs, shoving him away as he grins and claps his hands together.

 

“Ready to head back out there?” Trini takes a deep breath in.

 

“Yeah, as long as we don’t run into anyone.”

 

“Great, I’ll just tell everyone to turn their backs while we leave.” Zack says sarcastically, and Trini glares at him and grabs the arm of his leather jacket.

 

“Come on, jackass.” 

 

Trini opens the door and peeks her head out. There’s bodies in the hallway, and Trini darts past them and heads for the stairs, practically sprinting down them as fast as she can with Zack hot on her tails.

 

She hears someone shout, but she ignores it and heads straight for the front door-

 

“Hey, wait!” A hand moves right in front of hers and slams the door shut just as she opens it, and she turns and finds herself face to face with Kimberly Hart once again, looking more flushed than before as she hiccups and stumbles over her own feet before collapsing against the door. 

 

“Hey, where are you going?”

 

“Home, Kimberly.” She goes to open the door again, but Kimberly once again shoves it closed.

 

“Why? The party’s just starting!” She manages to say through her hiccups.

 

“Why do you care?” Trini says, wincing at the own harshness in her tone. Kimberly blinks in shock.

 

“I just-.”

 

“Do you even know my name?” Trini says coolly. Kimberly blinks again, and Trini scoffs and nods once.

 

“Right.”

 

“Oh come on, you’re new, I can’t learn everyone’s name-.”

 

“I’ve been at Angel Grove for over a year now and we have Biology together. Good talk.” 

 

“Wait-.” Trini shoves the door open, causing Kimberly to stumble back into Jason Scott, star quarterback of the Angel Grove High football team, who catches her, and Trini walks out of the house, the cool air hitting her skin and stinging the tears that she didn’t even notice were falling down her face as Zack trails behind her silently.

 

“You okay?” He eventually asks, and Trini ignores him, sits down on the sidewalk and tries her best to block out the noises coming from the house behind them.

 

She really wishes she could have a cigarette right now.

 

Zack stays quiet beside her, and Trini’s thankful for it. He’s annoying, but he knows when not to pester her.

 

They don’t think…don’t think about the consequences of what they do…

 

She shouldn’t have reacted like that, they’re just going to get more suspicious now. Why would some girl get so upset about being kissed by the most popular girl in school? Trini can only think of two reasons: one, she’s homophobic, or two, she’s gay.

 

Trini doesn’t have to think hard to know which option everyone at the school will begin to think is the truth.

 

This is so not how she wanted to come out…

 

How can she even begin to defuse this situation?

 

God, why couldn’t Kimberly have kissed literally any other girl at that party? There was at least five other girls on those stairs, why did it have to be her…

 

Fuck, this is so not going to end well.

 

Trini really fucking hates High School. 

 

As soon as Trini sees the familiar silver Ferrari pulling up to the curb, Trini wipes away her tears and stands, and as soon as she makes her way to the passenger door, she hears exclamations from the front lawn.

 

“Is that a Ferrari?! Damn, who’s riding that?” Trini looks up to see a bunch of the boys from the football team staring at the Ferrari in awe, and the second they see Trini’s mother in the driver’s seat, they’re wolf whistling.

 

Trini ignores them.

 

It’s times like these where, when Diana Prince, who has a face free of make-up, is wearing simple jeans and a shirt and her hair in a loose bun, still looks like a damn supermodel, that Trini wishes she wasn’t adopted, that Diana was her real mother. Maybe she would have inherited her mother’s beauty. Maybe, instead of Kimberly Hart kissing her as part of a joke, would kiss her for real, would find her beautiful enough to kiss on her own volition…

 

Trini settles into her seat and turns to see her mother looking out of the window at them with a frown.

 

“Was there alcohol at this party?” Diana asks, brown eyes filled with concern, and Trini nods.

 

“Of course.” 

 

“Hmm…”

 

“Don’t worry, Trini didn’t drink.” Zack says from the backseat with a grin.

 

“It’s not Trini I’m worried about…” Diana mutters, looking up at the house before she suddenly turns to look at Zack with a raised eyebrow.

 

“And what do you mean ‘Trini didn’t drink’?” She says, her accent coming through stronger in her concern, and Zack winces.

 

“Uh…”

 

“Zachary Taylor, when your mother left you in my care-.”

 

“I know, I’m sorry! It was only one drink!” Zack exclaims, and Diana shakes her head. 

 

“Unbelievable. And is that cigarette smoke I smell?” Diana says, wrinkling her nose, and Zack clears his throat.

 

“Yeah, they’re smoking in there, too.” He says hastily, and Diana clicks her tongue disapprovingly.

 

“Where are Amanda’s parents?”

 

“Out of town. But they apparently know that she was throwing a party.”

 

“Well, they’ll hear about this from me, I thought this was going to be a small party, and I’m sure they thought so, too-.”

 

“Mom, can…can we just go home, please?” Trini mutters. Diana looks at her with a frown before she reaches out and runs her fingers through Trini’s hair.

 

“Of course, little one. Let’s go.” 

 

The car ride home is silent, Diana throwing angry glances at Zack in the rearview mirror as he sits guiltily in his seat, and Trini tries her best to stop thinking about Kimberly Hart’s lips against her own. 

 

But she can’t.

 

The kiss had been quick, sure, but Trini can still feel her lips tingling, can still feel her whole body buzzing with an electricity that she can’t even begin to explain. 

 

When she had moved to Angel Grove a year ago with her mother after Diana had finally decided to settle down in one city instead of constantly moving around for work, Trini had never expected to stay for long. Diana was the co-owner of Wayne Enterprises with her best friend, Bruce Wayne, which meant that she was constantly moving from city to city in order to expand the business to the entire State. But as Trini had gotten older, Diana had begun expressing the desire to settle down, and Bruce had finally told her to0 settle down with her daughter, to take a smaller position within the company and that she could simply work from home and that, if need be, she could simply fly out instead of having to drag Trini along the entire country with her.

 

“If we go International, you can just fly out with me for the conferences and be back. It’s easier, Diana.” 

 

“International, huh? Are we expanding to Israel any time soon? It’s been a while since I’ve been to the motherland.” Diana had said with a smirk, and Bruce had simply grinned.

 

“If we do, you’re the first person I’ll call…I don’t speak Hebrew.” 

 

So Diana had stepped down from co-owner, had taken up a different, less intense job with the company and Diana had chosen the smallest town in California, Angel Grove, to move to, far away from Gotham City, and Trini hadn’t minded. To be honest, she was glad to be settling after so many years of constantly moving.

 

But Trini is starting to regret moving to this small town now. 

 

The High School is horrible, filled with pariahs and a social hierarchy that Trini wishes she could burn to the ground. 

 

And that had never been more proven than it had tonight.

 

Kimberly had grabbed her, not even thinking about how she could be affected, and had kissed her, all for what? Social points? For people to be talking about it when school rolls around on Monday?

 

Trini can already hear the whispers that will follow her as soon as she steps into the hallways of Angel Grove High School, the stares as people talk behind their hands…’That’s the girl Kimberly Hart kissed’.

 

And what if this starts rumors? Rumors about her sexuality?

 

Trini doesn’t think she can exactly handle that.

 

Only two people in the whole world know about her sexuality: Diana and Zack. 

 

She’d very much like for it to stay that way.

 

She can feel Diana watching her, probably picking apart her body language like she always does, trying to understand what’s going on with her daughter, why she’s suddenly so closed off-

 

“Trini?” Diana’s warm fingers reach out and interlock with her own, and Trini sighs and turns to look at her.

 

“Later.” She whispers. Diana purses her lips but nods, giving her a small smile, which Trini tries her best to return. 

 

Trini’s always been close with her mother. Of course, they fight, argue, and there’s times where Trini wishes she could just get away from her, but Diana is the one person who knows Trini in and out, the person who’s been there for her since the day she was born. 

 

Trini loves her, can’t begin to thank her enough for taking her into her home. Diana’s loved Trini her entire life, tells her all the time that she’s loved her from the moment she laid eyes on her. And Trini might not remember what she felt when she first looked at Diana as a baby, but she’s pretty sure she felt the same. 

 

As soon as they reach their house, Zack yawns and rubs his eyes, bidding them goodnight, and Diana smiles and ruffles his hair.

 

“We’ll go to the Hospital as soon as you wake up.” He grins and nods.

 

“Thanks.” 

 

Zack’s mother had been ill for quite some time before Trini had met him, and despite Diana’s best efforts and as much money as she could funnel into research, nothing could be done to help her. The best Diana could do was help pay Hospital bills as they did their best to make Zack’s mother comfortable. 

 

The thought of Zack losing his mother has chills running up Trini’s spine, and she turns to look at Diana as Zack makes his way to the guest bedroom.

 

Trini’s not sure she’d be able to survive if she lost Diana. The heartbreak alone, she’s sure, would kill her.

 

Diana watches him go before she turns to Trini and reaches out to brush her hair back from her forehead.

 

“Come on. Let’s go talk.” 

 

The memories of the night hit her like a tidal wave, and Trini tries her best to keep her tears at bay as she nods and makes her way up the stairs where hers and Diana’s rooms are. 

 

“Go get changed and come to my room, okay?” Diana says softly. Trini nods once, makes her way to her own room and quickly dresses into her pajamas before making her way to her mother’s room.

 

When she opens the door, Diana is at her bed pulling the covers back, a small smile on her face as she pats the spot beside her, and Trini clambers onto her bed and under the covers before curling up against her mother’s chest as Diana sighs and begins playing with her hair.

 

“What’s wrong, Trini? Did something happen at the party?” She asks. Trini bites down on her lip and nods.

 

“Yeah.” She croaks, tears welling in her eyes before she can stop them.

 

“Did someone hurt you?” Diana murmurs. Trini hesitates before shaking her head, and Diana tucks a finger under her chin and forces her to look up at her.

 

“What happened?” She asks more firmly, and Trini swallows the lump in her throat.

 

“A girl kissed me as part of a dare.” 

 

Diana is silent, and Trini sighs and shakes her head, hugging her mother closer.

 

“I know you’re okay with me being gay-.”

 

“Of course I am, Trini.” Diana says, pressing a kiss to her hair, and Trini smiles softly.

 

“I know, that’s not what’s making me freak out.”

 

“Then what is?” Diana asks. Trini lets out a deep breath.

 

“The school finding out I’m gay. Mom, they’re…fuck, they’re evil. If they find out, I don’t know what they’re going to do to me-.” 

 

“Did they find out?” Trini shakes her head, and Diana sighs.

 

“But you’re worried they might think you are after tonight.” She finishes, and Trini hesitates, biting her lip before she nods slowly.

 

“I didn’t exactly react very well.” 

 

“How do you mean?”

 

“I…liked it.” Diana smiles, and Trini rolls her eyes.

 

“Don’t start.” 

 

“I’m not. Keep going.” Diana says with a smirk. Trini takes a deep breath in.

 

“I liked it, and I kissed her back. And then as soon as it finished I just kind of…ran off. But the girl who kissed me…she’s one of the popular girls, and she did it as a joke, and I probably should’ve pushed her away, or played along like it was a joke, but I just…I froze. I froze and I kissed her back…what if-what if she tells everyone that I did and then they start asking questions-?” 

 

“Shh, shh, little one…” Diana rubs calming circles into her lower back, and Trini feels her tears fall before she can stop them as Diana sighs and presses another kiss to her hair.

 

“We’ll do whatever we need to do for you to be happy, Trini. If they find out and they exclude you, or they make fun of you…we’ll move you to another school, or we’ll leave town-.”

 

“I don’t want to leave though, mom. Zack…Zack needs us.” Trini murmurs. Diana runs her fingers through Trini’s hair.

 

“I know…you’ve never been as close with someone as you are with Zack. He’s your best friend.”

 

“He is. And I don’t want to leave him.” Trini says, looking up at Diana, who smiles softly and brushes her hair back from her forehead.

 

“Trini, even if the school finds out…you should carry it with pride. There’s nothing wrong with who you are. Being gay shouldn’t be a burden and I’m sorry that it is. But I don’t want you to ever be ashamed of your sexuality. It’s part of who you are, but it doesn’t define you, Trini. You’re so much more than it. And if they can’t see that, then they don’t deserve to know you.” 

 

Trini nods, bites down on her lip to stop herself from crying as Diana hugs her tightly.

 

“I love you, Trini. I’m sorry you have to go through this.” She whispers. 

 

“I love you too, mom.” Trini whispers back. 

 

“You’re going to find a girl one day who’s going to love you for everything you are and everything you aren’t. I promise.” Diana says softly, and Trini finds herself smiling. 

 

“Speaking from experience?” She teases, and Diana slaps her arm lightly.

 

“Yes, actually. With men and women, and you know it.” Trini chuckles, and Diana laughs and holds her even closer.

 

“What I’m trying to say is, you have people who love and support you, and that’s all you need.” 

 

“I know…I just hate High School.” Trini mumbles. 

 

“Everyone does.” Diana says with a chuckle.

 

“Why did you hate High School? Because you were the nerdy bookworm-?” Trini starts, and Diana growls lightly.

 

“Stop.” She says, tickling Trini as she giggles and tries to squirm away.

 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” She gasps out. 

 

“I should have never showed you those photos of me in High School…” Diana grumbles. Trini grins, and Diana smiles and pulls her back down, squeezing her tightly.

 

“Alright, you’re sleeping in my bed tonight.” 

 

“What, why?”

 

“Because I want to cuddle you.”

 

“Mooooom…” Trini tries to squirm free, but it’s absolutely useless, Diana’s strength unbelievable from god knows how many years of training as Trini eventually grunts and settles against her mother’s chest.

 

“I feel like I’m five again.” She grumbles.

 

“You’ll always be five to me.” Diana says, squeezing her.

 

“Mom, stop!”

 

“Never!” 

 

Trini eventually pins Diana’s arms to the bed, and Diana chuckles and calls a truce as Trini grins and collapses against her once more, Diana sighing happily as she hugs Trini close once more. 

 

“There’s the smile I always love seeing.” Trini chuckles, and Diana rubs her back gently.

 

“It’s going to be okay, I promise. Life is going to throw you so many obstacles, Trini. It’s how you move past them that determines how you survive. It’s what you do, not who you are, that makes you extraordinary.” 

 

“I know…I’m just scared. I shouldn’t be, but I can’t help it-.”

 

“Of course you can’t, but Trini, this isn’t the first scary situation you’ll be in. Life is full of them. But I will always have your back, okay? No matter what.” 

 

Trini nods against her slowly, and Diana sighs and rests her chin on Trini’s head.

 

“Mom?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Have I ever told you how thankful I am that you’re the one that adopted me from that orphanage?” Trini murmurs. Diana chuckles.

 

“Mmm, maybe once or twice a week…”

 

“How many times has it been this week?” 

 

“One.”

 

“Well, here’s the second one. I’m so thankful that you adopted me from that orphanage.” Diana laughs a little louder this time.

 

“Trini, you have no idea how thankful I am that I adopted you, too. You’ve changed my life, little one. In so many ways.” 

 

“You’ve changed mine.” Trini says with a smile. 

 

“Yes, you get to ride in Ferrari’s and live in a beautiful home.” Diana teases, and Trini rolls her eyes.

 

“I wouldn’t care if we lived in a second hand car that was barely operational. I’d still want you as my mother.” 

 

Diana is silent for a few moments, and when Trini looks up, Diana smiles down at her.

 

“I wouldn’t change you for the world, either.” They smile at each other, and Diana eventually yawns and rests her chin on Trini’s head once more.

 

“Now, get some sleep. Goodnight, little one.”

 

“Goodnight, mom.” 

 

It doesn’t take long for them to eventually fall asleep, Diana’s hold on Trini growing slack and her breathing becoming even as Trini sighs and tries her best to take her mind off of everything that’s happened.

 

But it’s hard.

 

She can’t stop thinking about that kiss.

 

She’s kissed girls before, sure, and it’s been exhilarating and amazing every single time.

 

But something’s different this time around.

 

Trini can’t explain it at all. 

 

All she can think about is Kimberly’s lips against her own, that taste of watermelon chap stick and vodka, the way Kimberly had gripped her tighter, stumbling slightly in her drunkenness as Trini had held her up, kept her stable, had felt her lips respond to Kimberly’s feverishly once the shock had faded-

 

She had kissed her back. Kimberly had kissed her back, though. And that hadn’t been some quick peck on the lips, either…

 

Had Kimberly enjoyed it? She had kind of whined against her, had gripped her even tighter once Trini began responding to the kiss-

 

Wait, what is she doing?

 

It doesn’t matter if Kimberly liked it. It was never happening again.

 

It was a joke to her. A complete and utter joke. A thirty second or so kiss for Kimberly that meant nothing has left Trini’s mind reeling and has left her questioning everything about her status, about how this one kiss will affect everything from now on.

 

What if she goes to school on Monday to everyone calling her a lesbian? A dyke? Disgusting? 

 

What if she ends up having to move? Ends up having to leave Zack behind just to get away from it all? After everything her mother sacrificed to get them to settle down once and for all and live their lives normally? For God’s sake, her mother had been the co-owner of one of the biggest companies in the United States…

 

Trini can’t throw all that away. Not just because some kids may potentially tease her for being gay.

 

Her mother’s right. This is just another obstacle for her to overcome.

 

And as for Kimberly Hart? She may be one hell of a kisser, but that’s it. Trini’s never gonna think about her again.

 

It was one kiss. One stupid drunken kiss that meant nothing to either of them. 

 

It meant nothing…

 

But when Trini eventually drifts off to sleep, it’s with the taste of watermelon chap stick and vodka still on her lips.

 

And Kimberly Hart and that kiss still on her mind.


	2. all those rumors, they have big teeth (oh, they bite you)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from 'Green Light' by Lorde.
> 
> New chapter! hope you guys enjoy it! you can message me at movinggforthesakeofmotion.tumblr.com or leave a comment! They're always appreciated!

“You ready?” 

 

Trini looks up at the students filing into Angel Grove High School, her heart beating erratically against her chest as Diana reaches across the driver’s seat and grips her hand.

 

“Remember, I’m a phone call away. The second you feel like you can’t do it-.”

 

“I know.” Trini says, smiling as best she can at her mother, who looks at her sympathetically before leaning across the seat and kissing her forehead.

 

“You’re gonna be okay, little one. Just remember to breathe…and stick by Zack’s side.”

 

“Yeah, I’ll keep you safe, crazy girl.” Zack says softly, gripping her shoulder and squeezing it with a smile. Trini takes a deep breath in and nods.

 

“Alright, let’s do this.” Trini opens the door, gripping her backpack and looking back at Diana with a sigh.

 

“Thanks for parking a block away, I didn’t want more looks because of the Ferrari.” Diana smiles.

 

“Call me if you need me.” 

 

“I will, I promise.” Zack follows her out of the car, both of them shutting their doors as Trini turns to look up at the school.

 

This is going to be hell, she can feel it already.

 

“Deep breaths, remember?” Zack says. Trini nods, squares her shoulders, and makes her way toward the school.

 

She’s barely even inside the building when the whispers begin.

 

People look her way the second she begins walking up the stairs, and she stops short, her palms already beginning to sweat as Zack grips her elbow.

 

“Headphones. Put your headphones on.” Trini nods numbly, swinging her backpack off her shoulder and grabbing her headphones out of the front zip.

 

She attaches them to her phone and immediately blasts the first song she can find, the bass from the drums and the twang of the guitar strings echoing in her mind as she keeps her head down and forces herself to focus on the music and feeling of Zack walking beside her. 

 

She glances up for half a second as she walks through the front doors, and immediately, people look her way, eyes widening, some of them smiling, some of them talking to the person beside them in what she guesses is hushed tones. 

 

Zack grips her elbow again, and Trini can feel her cheeks turn bright red, bows her head and makes her way to her locker at top speed.

 

As soon as she reaches it, she rests her head against the cool metal, forcing herself to take deep breathes as she pulls her headphones down to rest around her neck. Zack sighs beside her and begins opening his own locker.

 

“They’re talking about the kiss.” Zack says. Trini bites down on her bottom lip.

 

“Nothing about you being a lesbian though, Trin…” He says softly. She closes her eyes, exhales as she nods against the metal before moving back and putting in her combination to open her locker, her hands shaking slightly. 

 

“Uh, Trin…” 

 

“Zack, I’m fine.” Trini says abruptly. 

 

“No, Trin-.”

 

“What?” Trini turns to face him, sees him looking behind her with wide eyes, and when she turns, her heart drops down to her ass.

 

Kimberly Hart is standing in front of her, a warm smile on her face, brown curls falling down her chest as she adjusts the vest top she’s wearing and exhales.

 

“Hey.” She says simply. 

 

Trini doesn’t respond. Doesn’t think she could even if she knew how to form words right now. 

 

Fuck, her heart is beating so fast…is this what a heart attack feels like?

 

“Uh…I just wanted to say I’m sorry…about Saturday night. I can’t really remember it, but apparently I kind of grabbed you and kissed you, and you ran off, and I…I just-I’m sorry.” She says, twisting her fingers and barely looking Trini in the eye as she squirms uncomfortably.

 

Trini clears her throat.

 

“It’s fine.” She squeaks out. 

 

“I…it was a game, we were-.”

 

“She said it’s fine, Kimberly.” Zack says behind her, and Trini’s knees are shaking as she bites her lip to stop herself from whimpering with relief.

 

Zack’s got her back. 

 

“Right…” Kimberly smiles again at her, and when Trini doesn’t reciprocate, she turns around and begins walking away, her shoulders tense as she tightens her grip on her bag.

 

Trini blinks back her tears and turns to look at Zack.

 

“Fuck, I-.”

 

“Don’t. You can’t help how you react, Trini.”

 

“She’s gonna suspect now, she’s gonna know-.”

 

“Trini.” Zack grips her shoulders, forces her to look at him, and Trini inhales sharply as he looks her in the eyes. 

 

“Trini, even if she does, even if she tells the entire school, it’s who you are. If they can’t accept that, then they’re assholes.” 

 

Trini nods despite herself, and Zack pulls her in for a tight hug as she buries her head in his chest. 

 

“You’ll still be my friend if they find out, right?” She mumbles into his shirt, and Zack chuckles.

 

“You’re stuck with me, Prince. No matter what.” 

 

“Good. Because I can’t lose you…or mom.” 

 

“We’re not going anywhere, Trini, come on. Don’t think like that. You’ve got us, through thick and thin.” Trini nods against him. 

 

“Come on, crazy girl. You’ve got Biology.”

 

“Fuck…”

 

“Just ignore her, alright? She’s gonna be too preoccupied with her group of girls anyway, she probably won’t even notice you.”

 

“Fly on the wall, huh?” 

 

“Fly on the wall.” Trini pulls back, and Zack holds his hand out for Trini to slap, which she does.

 

“Go on.” Zack ruffles her hair, and she punches him in the gut lightly before grabbing her Biology textbook and making her way to class just as the bell rings above her.

 

“By the way, actually go to class this time, Zack!” Trini says, turning around and walking backwards to look at Zack, who holds his arms up in surrender with a grin.

 

“It’s Maths, Trini! No one likes Maths!” Trini returns his grin, turns back around and makes her way to Classroom 8. 

 

Trini makes a beeline for the end of the room, not looking at a single soul that looks that her as the whispers start up as soon as her foot enters through the front door. 

 

She shoves her headphones back on, goes right to the back and sits down at the seat to the farthest left as she opens her book and begins dawdling, blasting the music as loudly as she can so she doesn’t hear what’s being said. 

 

It isn’t until a hand slams down onto her book that Trini jumps and looks up to see Mr. Borea looking at her angrily, and Trini hastily shoves her headphones down as he glares at her.

 

“Nice of you to come back to Earth, Miss Prince.” He seethes. Trini smiles sheepishly.

 

“Sorry.” 

 

Headphones. Bag. Now.” He says, and Trini nods numbly, shoves her headphones back into her bag as Mr. Borea makes his way back to the front of the class.

 

For the brief second that Trini looks up, she sees Kimberly Hart looking at her, and she feels her heart pound against her heart erratically before she moves her gaze back down to her book, desperate to avoid any kind of contact with the head cheerleader as possible. 

 

The class drags on boringly, and halfway through, Mr. Borea claps his hands together excitedly, catching Trini’s attention. 

 

“Alright, class, now, the exciting part! I’m gonna put you into pairs, what you’re going to do is take a sample of your own DNA with a swab from the inside of your cheek, place them under the microscopes and have a look at what human cells look like! Uh, let’s see…” 

 

Mr. Borea picks up a clipboard with everyone’s name on it, hums as he looks down the list before he begins calling out pairs.

 

“Mr. Rico…with Mr. Sanchez, please! Uh…Miss Clarke, with Mr. Harris. Miss Russo…with Miss Pol. Miss Hart…”

 

_Please don’t say me, please don’t say me…_

 

“With Miss Prince, please.” 

 

_Fuck._

 

Whispers immediately begin all over the room, some of them whispering excitedly, some of them chuckling, and Trini tries her best to swallow the lump in her throat as Mr. Borea looks up, his eyes moving between her and Kimberly.

 

“Is there a problem?”

 

Trini’s about to say there is when Kimberly suddenly speaks up. 

 

“No, Mr. Borea. Everything’s fine.” Kimberly stands, grabbing her bag from the ground and turning to face Trini, who can already feel her palms beginning to sweat as she tries her best to focus on simply breathing properly.

 

Kimberly sits down in the empty seat beside her, a smile on her face as Mr. Borea continues calling off pairs.

 

“Hey.” She says softly. Trini simply nods in acknowledgement, continues drawing on her page with a now shaking hand as Kimberly clears her throat and shifts uncomfortably in her seat.

 

“Trini-.”

 

“Oh, learned my name, have we?” Trini deadpans sarcastically, causing Kimberly to frown.

 

“What?” Trini sighs.

 

“Nothing, let’s just do the work we need to do, okay?” Trini says, trying her best to stay calm as Kimberly blinks before sighing.

 

“Seriously, it was just a kiss, I don’t know why you’re getting so upset-.”

 

“I’m not upset. I just want to forget it happened, okay?” Trini manages to get out through gritted teeth. She clenches her fist, nails digging into her palm as Kimberly nods.

 

“Yeah, yeah cool! I mean, like…I want to forget it happened, too. It was just some drunken mistake, and like…I don’t want there to be any bad blood between us-.”

 

“There isn’t. Like I said, let’s just do the work and go back to how we were before.”

 

“But we barely even spoke before.”

 

“Exactly.” Kimberly frowns again, nods anyway, and Trini tries her best to look up at Mr. Borea and not even pay any mind to the girl beside her.

 

But it’s hard.

 

She can smell that stupid fucking watermelon chap stick. 

 

She closes her eyes, tries her best to breathe, and she can feel Kimberly watching her, forces herself not to look as she keeps her eyes focused on Mr. Borea. 

 

He eventually stops talking, asks one person from each pair to stand and take a microscope, glass slides and cotton swabs from the front table, and Trini stands up so fast, her seat ends up falling to the ground with a loud thud. 

 

Everyone turns to look at her in shock, but Trini ignores them, makes a beeline for the front desk and grabs what’s needed before turning back and walking to her seat to find it back in place.

 

She looks at Kimberly, who smiles, and Trini ignores her and sets their equipment down before sitting down. 

 

“So, uh…were you listening to anything Mr. Borea was saying? Because I have no idea what to do.” Kimberly says, chuckling awkwardly as she ruffles the back of her hair. 

 

Trini sighs.

 

“Nope.”

 

Kimberly chuckles again, and Trini bites her lip before shrugging.

 

“Seems simple enough. Put the cotton swab in your mouth, put it in this solution, use the dropper to grab a drop of the solution with our DNA on it, put it on the glass slide and look at it under the microscope.” 

 

Kimberly blinks.

 

“Yeah. Simple.” She breathes out. Trini smiles despite herself, grabs the cotton swab and shoves it into her mouth, scraping the inside of her cheek with it before grabbing one of the vials with the solution in it and dipping it in. 

 

Kimberly follows suite, contorting her face in disgust as she puts the cotton swab into her mouth. Trini can feel other people’s eyes on them, watching them intently, and she tries her best to ignore it and simply focus on her work, but it’s hard.

 

Apparently, Trini’s not the only one who notices. 

 

“It’s like they’re expecting us to start making out again.” Kimberly says with a chuckle. Trini grits her teeth, tries her best to calm herself down, but Kimberly doesn’t help the matter when she leans closer to her and touches the back of her arm.

 

“Hey, can you pass me the dropper?” Trini inhales sharply, lets the breath go and nods as she grabs the dropper beside the microscope and hands it to her wordlessly. 

 

“So…there’s another party happening this weekend…” Kimberly says softly. Trini turns to look at her.

 

“So?” Kimberly smiles.

 

“So…are you gonna make an appearance?” She says with a small smirk. Trini feels her heart stop.

 

_Make a joke, make a joke, say something stupid!_

 

“Uh, why? So you can make out with me again?” Trini says, trying her best to smile, play it off as a joke despite her heart pounding against her chest and her palms beginning to sweat. 

 

Kimberly laughs.

 

“No, but still, you should come, it’ll be fun!” She says with a smile.

 

Trini stares at her for a long time. 

 

She doesn’t understand.

 

How can Kimberly be so blasé about everything? It’s nothing to her, at all. Kissing her meant nothing, but for Trini, it turned her entire weekend into endless thoughts and the constant plaguing mindset of what was going to happen when she came back to school.

 

Kimberly was probably nursing a hangover and laughing off what she’d done while Trini was wracking her mind, trying to figure out what she was feeling, what the kiss meant, even if it meant absolutely nothing…

 

It still means nothing to her.

 

_I’ve gotta move past this…it was just some stupid kiss…_

 

“Uh…we’ll see…have to ask my mom, you know…” Kimberly nods.

 

“Right. Well, it’s at my place, so if you do come…it’ll be great.” Kimberly smiles lightly at her, and Trini nods, gives her a simple smile back and turns to her work once more. 

 

The rest of the class passes by easily enough. They get their work done, Mr. Borea seems happy enough, and when the bell rings, Trini grabs her bag, shoves her books into it and stands from her seat at only a slightly increased pace, still desperate to get the hell out of there and as far away from Kimberly as possible.

 

But Kimberly stands, grips her elbow and gives it a gentle squeeze as she smiles.

 

“We work well together.” 

 

“Yeah, go team.” Trini says sarcastically, and Kimberly rolls her eyes.

 

“You’re unbelievable.” Trini smiles, puts her bag over her shoulder and is about to walk away when she’s stopped by Ty Fleming, who blocks her path with a sly grin.

 

“So…did you two get along?” He says with a grin. Trini’s smile fades.

 

“What?”

 

“Ty…” Kimberly’s voice is low, a warning tone, and Ty grins at her before waggling his eyebrows at Trini.

 

“How about you two, uh…make out again? Give us a bit of a show, yeah?” 

 

Trini’s heart drops.

 

“Ty, shut up.” Kimberly says, but there’s a slight chuckle to her tone, and Trini feels her nails digging into her palm as she refuses to look at either of them, instead choosing to focus on the door behind Ty, the destination she desperately needs to get to.

 

“Get out of my way.” She says calmly to Ty.

 

“Come on, just a quick kiss…I’ll get my phone ready.” 

 

“Ty, stop being a dick.” Kimberly’s tone is a bit firmer now, a hint of anger, and again, Trini doesn’t look at either of them.

 

“I said get out of my way.” She repeats. 

 

“You can’t say you don’t want to, I saw you kiss her back that night, Prince-.”

 

“Ty, get out of her way.” Kimberly reaches out now, grabs Ty’s arm and drags him out of the way, and Trini practically runs straight for the door, the sound of her shoes squeaking on the ground echoing around her and blocking out everything else as she breaks into a run.

 

-

 

Diana is watching her intently.

 

Trini can feel her eyes boring into the side of her head as she looks out of the window without a word. 

 

Zack is silent in the back seat as well, the whole car vibrating with a silent intensity that every single one of them can feel.

 

“You’re going to stay with your mom tonight, Zack?” Diana finally asks, breaking the silence as soon as they pull up to the Angel Grove Medical Center. 

 

“Yeah, she asked me if I could stay tonight yesterday, don’t wanna disappoint her.” 

 

“Of course. Here, take this for her.” Diana hands him two containers of food in a plastic bag, and Zack grins.

 

“Lasagna?”

 

“Yep!” Diana says with a grin, and Zack whoops before he grabs the back of her and shoulders his own backpack before leaning into the seat and gripping Trini’s shoulder.

 

“I’ll see you at school tomorrow, alright?” Trini simply nods, and Zack makes his way out of the car, waving to them as he walks toward the entrance of the hospital. 

 

As soon as Diana pulls away, she feels cold fingers touch the inside of her wrist.

 

“Trini?”

 

Trini sighs, turns to look at her mother, who looks back and forth between the road and her.

 

“Pay attention to the road.” Trini says, her voice hoarse from lack of use, and Diana sighs.

 

“What happened?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

“Trini…”

 

“Nothing, really. I’m just…tired. Today was a long day.” 

 

“Are you sure?” Trini nods easily.

 

“Yeah.” She lies. Diana nods once, but interlaces their fingers and squeezes her hand, and Trini can feel tears immediately well in her eyes just from that gesture alone. 

 

As soon as they get home, Trini tells Diana she’s heading upstairs to shower, and Diana simply nods, watches her walk up the stairs and round the corner with cautious eyes.

 

Trini enters her room, closes the door behind her and grabs her headphones, shoving them on over her head and blasting her music as loudly as she can as she lays down and tries her best not to cry.

 

Why was Ty Fleming such an asshole?

 

And Kimberly…Kimberly laughed it off with him.

 

Trini rubs her tears away, sniffs and forces herself not to think about it anymore. 

 

She shouldn’t be getting so affected by this. Why can’t she just get over it? It was one stupid, drunken kiss. It meant absolutely nothing to Kimberly, so it shouldn’t mean anything to her.

 

So why the fuck can’t she stop thinking about it?

 

She feels a tug on her head and she jumps before she feels a hand rake through her hair.

 

“Little one…” 

 

Trini buries her head into her pillow, but it’s too late. Diana sighs and pulls her into her, hugging her tightly to her chest, and the simple gesture has tears falling before Trini can stop them. 

 

“What happened? Talk to me…” Trini bites down on her lip, sniffs her tears away and shakes her head.

 

“Nothing.”

 

“Did someone say something?”

 

“No, I just…I don’t know…I’m scared. And I keep trying to tell myself that the only person I need to accept me is you, but I just don’t know, I don’t-I can’t-.”

 

“Trini…Trini, shh, it’s okay…” Diana runs her fingers through Trini’s hair, holds her close and presses a kiss to her forehead, and Trini simply cries, allows herself to feel as Diana rubs circles into her back and tries to calm her down. 

 

“I promise you, everything is going to be okay.”

 

“I know, I’m being stupid-.”

 

“You’re not being stupid…shh…” Diana sighs, presses a kiss to her hair as Trini clutches her shirt between her fingers.

 

“I wish I could take your pain away…” Diana whispers. 

 

“I wish I could take my pain away, too.” Trini says with a sad chuckle. Diana shakes her head and smiles down at her.

 

“You’re going to get through this, Trini. You’re so much stronger than you know. But I need you to promise me that if anyone, absolutely anyone, makes you feel something you don’t want to feel…you tell me. You tell me so I can do something about it.”

 

“You can’t murder someone, mom.” Trini mutters.

 

“No, but I can get you out of that school. Out of this town.”

 

“After everything you’ve given up?”

 

“Trini, you’re my daughter. I’d give up my life for you and you know it. I’d move to the ends of the Earth to make you happy.” 

 

Trini can’t help but smile, and Diana smiles and rests her lips against Trini’s forehead.

 

“It will die down, Trini. They’ll find something new to talk about. But until then, I’m here, alright? I always will be.” Trini nods, closes her eyes as Diana hugs her close, and it isn’t long before she finds herself drifting off to sleep, safe in her mother’s arms. 

 

-

 

In the end, Diana’s right.

 

Kind of.

 

The rest of the week passes by without any incident, which Trini is thankful for. But she can still hear the whispers, can still feel the eyes on her every time she walks down the hallways.

 

They’re still talking about it.

 

Kimberly continues to play nice, smiles at her whenever she passes her in the hallway or when Trini walks past her on the way to her seat in Biology. 

 

On Friday afternoon, Kimberly surprises Trini by walking up to her locker with a smile as she comes to a stop in front of Trini, her phone in her hand.

 

“Hey. You coming tomorrow night?”

 

Trini had blinked in confusion, and Kimberly had rolled her eyes.

 

“My party? Remember?” 

 

“Oh right.” Trini had muttered, opening her locker and grabbing her books for History.

 

“Well?” 

 

Trini had hesitated. 

 

“Uh, I’m gonna be out of town with my mom, so…” Trini had lied easily, and Kimberly’s face had fallen as she frowned and nodded.

 

“Oh, that sucks. Well, there’s always next time.”

 

“Yeah.” And Kimberly had touched her shoulder with a smile before walking away. 

 

Trini’s not going to that party.

 

The whole week she’s been walking on eggshells, and the thought of having to go to this party with everyone staring at her like they have been? No way. 

 

Not happening.

 

So that’s how Trini gets stuck where she is now: sitting with Diana on the couch, watching a movie as Diana drinks a glass of wine and Trini curls up with her head on her mother’s lap.

 

Zack’s with his mother at the Hospital, and Trini has been texting him all night, making sure he’s alright. 

 

Diana tells her that she’ll drive them to the Hospital at the first sign of distress, and Trini tells her she’ll let her know when her phone goes off with another notification. 

 

But when she opens her phone, it’s not a message from Zack.

 

It’s a message from Kimberly Hart.

 

Trini frowns, looks at her phone in confusion before opening her messenger app and opening Kimberly’s message.

 

**Kimberly Hart**   
_This party is a lot of fun, you should be here! Xx_

 

Trini stares at it for a long time.

 

“Everything okay?” Diana asks. Trini simply nods, and Diana runs her fingers through Trini’s hair as she types out a reply.

 

_If it’s so good, why are you messaging me?_

 

Trini looks up at Diana, who’s watching the TV and sipping from her glass of wine, and Trini sighs and relaxes into her as her phone buzzes again.

 

**Kimberly Hart**   
_Because you’d make it better! Xx_

 

Trini blinks.

 

_Are you drunk?_

 

Kimberly’s reply comes a moment later.

 

**Kimberly Hart**   
_A little!_

 

Trini rolls her eyes.

 

_Yeah, I’m not touching it with a ten foot pole, you’ll probably make out with me again._

 

Trini locks her phone, tries to focus on the movie again, but her phone buzzes within seconds.

 

**Kimberly Hart**   
_Would that be the worst thing on Earth?_

 

Trini’s frozen.

 

Her heart is pounding against her chest painfully, and she tries to swallow the lump building in her throat as Diana notices the stillness in her and tugs lightly on her hair.

 

“You alright?” She asks. Trini leaves the message on read and locks the phone as she nods.

 

“Yeah, fine.” 

 

Trini has no idea how to reply to her. 

 

Was…was Kimberly flirting with her?

 

No way, that’s fucking impossible. Absolutely impossible, no way.

 

Then what the hell was she doing? 

 

She’s drunk, clearly. It’s probably just her rambling and making stupid drunken decisions, it’s clearly her modus operandi to do so…

 

Trini still doesn’t reply, and it’s well past midnight when Diana yawns and taps Trini on the forehead.

 

“Bed time?”

 

“Mmm…” Trini smiles, and Diana chuckles and presses a kiss to her forehead.

 

“Goodnight, little one.”

 

“Night, mom.” They both head up to their own rooms, and as soon as Trini is comfortable in her bed under the covers, her phones goes off again. 

 

**Kimberly Hart**   
_You haven’t answered my question…_

 

Trini looks at her phone in shock.

 

Opens up her messages.

 

_Zack, Kimberly Hart is fucking flirting with me over text._

 

It takes a while for Zack to reply, Trini’s stomach twisting for the five minutes that pass in which he doesn’t until she sees the bubbles that indicate he’s texting back.

 

**Zack Taylor (1)**   
_LMAO, what?! What do you mean?!_

 

Trini sighs.

 

_I don’t know, she’s having some party at her place and she’s drunk and she keeps messaging me!_

 

The bubbles appear again.

 

**Zack Taylor (1)**   
_She’s having a party and I wasn’t invited?!_

 

Trini growls under her breath.

 

_ZACK, HELP ME._

 

Trini sighs as she waits for his reply.

 

**Zack Taylor (1)**   
_Calm down, crazy girl. She’s just drunk. Ignore her, alright? Don’t play into her games, I don’t want you getting your heart broken._

 

Trini bites her lip, reads his message over and over again.

 

He’s right. Completely right. She can’t feed into Kimberly’s bullshit. She’s drunk, clearly…whatever she’s saying right now, she doesn’t mean. 

 

Trini can’t keep encouraging this behavior.

 

She opens up her messages to Kimberly.

 

_Yeah, pretty sure it would be._

 

As soon as she presses end, her heart sinks and she bites down on her lip, tries to calm herself down.

 

She sees Kimberly read the message.

 

Sees her type out a reply before she stops. Then starts again. Then stops. Then starts.

 

Then stops.

 

Then starts.

 

Then stops.

 

Trini’s waiting for her to start up again, but she doesn’t.

 

And she falls asleep still waiting for Kimberly’s reply. 

 

When she wakes up the next morning, Kimberly still hasn’t replied, and Trini realizes she might have passed out from the party. 

 

Or she’s really pissed her off. 

 

Either way, Kimberly Hart has stopped messaging her.

 

She should be relieved.

 

And she is.

 

She is.

 

She totally is.

 

Until she goes on Facebook later on in the day.

 

And sees that Kimberly Hart has updated her relationship status.

 

_Kimberly Hart has entered a relationship with Ty Fleming._

 

Trini stares at it for a long time, her heart slamming against her ribcage and an unexplainable anger pounding through her entire body. 

 

She locks her phone and throws it onto her bed and doesn’t touch it for the rest of the day.


	3. you hurt me bad this time, no coming back (and I cry till I couldn't cry, another heart attack)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from "Forgiveness" By Paramore.
> 
>  
> 
> trigger warnings: homopobia, mild "blink and you'll miss it" eating disorder.
> 
>  
> 
> yeah hi, this fic is getting dark. I'm sorry. Please be warned.
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> Also, I changed the name of the fic, I hope this doesn't cause any confusion! please message me at movinggforthesakeofmotion.tumblr.com to scream about the latest chapter or you can comment! those are appreciated!

“Yo, crazy girl, you alright?” 

 

Trini is shaken out of her stupor at the feeling of a hand on her shoulder, and she turns to see Zack watching her with a frown of concern on his face. 

 

“Yeah, I’m…I’m good.”

 

Trini’s eyes subconsciously look back to where they were, eyes on Kimberly Hart pulling Ty Fleming in close for a kiss, Ty’s hands squeezing her ass as Kimberly jumps at the contact before melting into the kiss.

 

“She moved on quick.” Zack says.

 

“Moved on from what?”

 

“Kissing you.” Zack says with a grin. Trini rolls her eyes.

 

“Shut up.” 

 

Trini stands from the bleachers, and Zack follows suit, both of them heading straight to their lockers to grab their books for their next class.

 

“Do you think you can come with me to the Hospital this afternoon? Mom hasn’t seen you in a while, she misses you.” Zack says with a smile, and Trini nods once with a grin.

 

“Yeah, of course. Diana will probably come, too.” 

 

“Awesome.” 

 

“You’re gonna go to class, right?” Zack grimaces.

 

“Yeah…mom kind of got up me about skipping classes.” 

 

“How’d she find out?” Zack raises an eyebrow, and Trini grins sheepishly.

 

“Ah, well…Diana cares about you, Zack.” Zack sighs.

 

“Yeah, I know. It’s okay. She’s right. I do need to go to class, it’s just…fuck, I can’t concentrate, you know? It’s hard.” 

 

Trini bites her lip.

 

“I know…I told you, if you ever need help with homework-.”

 

“I know, crazy girl. You’ve got my back like I’ve got yours.” Zack says with a grin. Trini smiles, wraps a hand around his waist in a one armed hug as Zack squeezes her shoulder.

 

“I’ll probably be sleeping at yours tonight.”

 

“Yeah, sweet. I just-.” Trini stops short when she turns the corner and smacks right into someone else, books scattering all over the ground as she curses out loud before bending down to pick the books up.

 

“Fuck! Sorry!”

 

“That’s alright.” Trini looks up to see Billy Cranston, a boy she’s spoken to a handful of times, looking very flustered as Trini sighs.

 

“Shit, I’m sorry, Billy-.”

 

“It’s okay, Trini. Thanks.” He takes his books off her with a smile as they both stand, and Trini smiles at him.

 

“How are you, Cranston?” She asks. Billy smiles.

 

“I’m good, thanks. Just focusing on a project at the moment. Well, actually, a few projects, but one in particular is what I’m staying focused on. I guess I got distracted and didn’t see you coming, I’m sorry-.”

 

“No, it’s fine. All good. See you in Maths.” 

 

“S-Sure thing, Trini.” Billy smiles and makes his way down the hallway, and Trini watches him go with a sigh.

 

“Man…I always feel bad for him. Like I know the kid’s got autism, but he’s nice, you know? Why do people steer clear of him?” Zack says, and Trini shakes her head.

 

“Because people are assholes.” Zack scoffs. 

 

The rest of the day goes by slowly, Trini finding herself struggling to keep herself awake. As soon as the bell for the final class rings, signaling the end of the school day, Trini makes her way down the hallway to the parking lot where she knows Diana is waiting for her.

 

And she’s stopped by Kimberly Hart waiting at her locker.

 

Trini stops short, but sighs and makes her way toward it as Kimberly looks up from her phone and sees her.

 

“Hi.” She says, her voice small. Trini simply nods, opens her locker and pulls the books she needs to do her homework and shoving them into her bag. 

 

“Just wanted to say sorry for texting you the other night. Clearly I upset you and-.”

 

“I don’t really care, Kimberly.” Kimberly’s expression turns stony.

 

“Yeah, I got that much by your reply. I just wanted to say I’m sorry.” She mumbles, her eyes falling down to her phone again.

 

Trini nods.

 

“Fine.”

 

“Fine.” Kimberly sighs in frustration before turning and making her way down the hallway and away from Trini.

 

Trini feels like she should be a little guilty about essentially ghosting Kimberly completely, like she should shoulder her bag and force herself not to think about it.

 

Instead she finds herself resting her forehead against the cool metal of her locker, trying her best not to cry as she takes a few deep breathes before nodding to herself.

 

“Come on, Trin.” She sniffs, nods once and shoulders her bag before making her way down the hallway.

 

Why the fuck was Kimberly Hart always on her mind?

 

Before Trini even gets to the front door to get to the parking lot, her phone begins buzzing in her pocket, and Trini pulls it out and sees Diana’s calling her before she answers.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Trini, I’m sorry, but I’m in the middle of a conference call and I can’t leave, is there any other way you can get home?” Trini frowns.

 

“Uh…yeah, I’ll take the bus or something, it’s okay.”

 

“Alright. I’m sorry, little one-.”

 

“It’s fine, mom. I’ll see you soon, okay?” 

 

“Alright. Bye.”

 

“Bye.” Trini sighs and hangs up, and as soon as she opens the door, she comes face to face with Zack.

 

“Zack! Hey, um…Diana can’t pick us up, do you wanna walk to the Hospital?” Zack sighs and shakes his head.

 

“Nope, right now, I wanna go to the mines and smoke some cigarettes. Let’s go.” Trini blinks in shock.

 

“What? Zack-.”

 

“I’ll explain later, let’s go.” 

 

Trini follows him in silence way past the school toward the outskirts of Angel Grove, and as soon as they reach the mines, Zack leads her to the abandoned train left in the middle of the mine and jumps on top of it before pulling cigarettes out of his pocket.

 

Trini hesitates before taking one off him and lighting it, and Zack does the same, lighting his own and taking a drag before sighing loudly.

 

“I’m failing History. And English.” Zack says. Trini sighs.

 

“Fuck…”

 

“Yeah.” Trini takes a drag, exhales loudly before shaking her head.

 

“We’ll figure it out, Zack. I’ll tutor you, Diana can help you with History-.”

 

“Yeah, yeah…I know. I just…I feel like a fucking failure. And it’s all my fault anyway, not going to class…fuck.” Zack runs a hand through his hair. 

 

“It’s okay, Zack. We’ll figure it out, I promise.” Zack nods once, takes another drag, and Trini sighs and does the same, shaking her head slowly.

 

“I fucking hate High School.” She mutters. Zack scoffs.

 

“Yeah…” 

 

They sit silently, finish their cigarettes and clutch each other’s hands tightly as Trini tries her best not to cry.

 

How did everything get so fucked up so quickly?

 

“I don’t get how we’re supposed to deal with all this shit…I thought our teenage years were supposed to be our best.” Zack groans. Trini laughs loudly.

 

“Yeah right. There’s no such thing as best years, Zack. Life’s a bitch. Then you die.” Zack laughs.

 

“Morbid. I like it.” 

 

“Morbid, but true.” Trini sighs, taking a final drag before throwing the cigarette away from her. Zack shakes his head.

 

“Yeah, well…time to go be more morbid. Hospital?” Trini nods.

 

“Hospital.” 

 

-

 

“Trini. Come on, time for school.” 

 

Trini groans and rolls over in her bed, shoving her head into the pillow and sighing into it.

 

“Five minutes.”

 

“No more minutes. Come on.” Trini feels something slap her ass, and she growls as Diana rips the covers off her body.

 

“Mom!”

 

“Trini! School! Come on!” 

 

“I don’t wanna go.” Trini grumbles. Diana sighs, and Trini looks up to see her making her way over to Trini before pushing her to the side and laying down on the bed as Trini whines.

 

“Come on, what’s wrong?” Diana says, dragging Trini onto her lap.

 

“Nothing.” Trini mutters.

 

“Don’t lie. Why don’t you want to go to school?” Trini sighs.

 

“It sucks.”

 

“It’s school. Of course it sucks.” Trini rolls her eyes.

 

“Good. So I don’t have to go.”

 

“Not true.” 

 

“Mom, please?” Diana looks down at her, tucking a finger under her chin and forcing her to look up into her eyes.

 

“Trini, I know things are bit rough at school, but if you just keep your head down-.” 

 

“I tried that, it didn’t work. If I just don’t go then-.”

 

“You miss out on an education over some students bullying you. Trini, I’m not saying this isn’t tough, it is, but you’re tougher and you know it. Screw them. You’re more important than they will ever be. You win by refusing to be affected by them.” 

 

Trini hesitates.

 

“Mom-.”

 

“Trini, you’ve got this. And even if you don’t, I’ve got you. I always will.” Trini sighs, but eventually curls up against Diana’s chest and nods.

 

“Fine.”

 

“Mmm, good.” Diana presses a kiss to her hair, and Trini rolls off her bed with a groan and makes her way to the bathroom.

 

“I’ll go wake up Zack, you’ll both have breakfast waiting when you’re done.” Trini simply nods, grabs her clothes and heads to the bathroom, turns the hot water on and strips her clothing. 

 

The water is boiling, but Trini doesn’t mind, finds herself relishing in it and watching as her skin turns red from the heat as the water hits her. 

 

She doesn’t want to face Angel Grove High today.

 

God only knows what Kimberly is going to say. Or what Kimberly is going to do. Hopefully not talk to her at all, but so far, that hasn’t been working. Why won’t Kimberly just leave her alone? It was one stupid kiss-

 

Trini sighs and rubs water onto her face before grabbing the body wash.

 

It’s done. Kimberly is not going to affect her anymore. Diana’s right. By continuing to be affected by her, she’s letting Kimberly win.

 

Not anymore. 

 

The second she finishes dressing up and shoves a beanie over her haphazard hair, she heads down the stairs to see Zack chomping down on cereal, a grin on his face as he looks up at Trini, and Diana presses a kiss to her hair when she rounds the corner and gives her a bowl of cereal. 

 

“Zack, are you staying at the Hospital tonight?” Zack nods slowly.

 

“Okay. Trini, I might have to go to Gotham this weekend, do you think you can handle the house by yourself?” Trini rolls her eyes.

 

“I’ve done it before.”

 

“I’ll stay with her.” Zack says with a smile. Diana frowns.

 

“No parties.” She says, raising a finger threateningly at him, and Zack’s eyes widen.

 

“I would never!” He says in mock horror at such an accusation. Diana rolls her eyes.

 

“Yes you would.”

 

Diana drops them off at school as soon as they finish their breakfast, and Trini sighs and looks up at the school before squaring her shoulders.

 

It’s gonna be different today.

 

Kimberly is gonna leave her alone. She will.

 

“Trin?”

 

“Yeah. Let’s go.” She makes her way through the front door, only has to face a few whispers before she reaches her locker and grabs her books for her first class. Zack grins and bumps shoulders with her.

 

“See? It’s dying down.” Trini grunts in response, shuts her locker door, and Zack frowns as he grabs his English book.

 

“Right…English.” Trini bites her lip.

 

“You’ve got this. Just…try to pay attention to everything Mr. Garner says, alright?” Zack glares at her.

 

“He sounds like a robot.”

 

“Well think of him as Optimus Prime. Whatever it takes to make him interesting.” Trini deadpans. Zack sighs.

 

“But I-.”

 

“Zack, you’re failing, remember?” Zack blinks.

 

“Right. Got it. Focus.” He mutters. Trini nods. 

 

“Good.”

 

“What are you gonna do about your Kimberly situation?” Zack asks. Trini shrugs.

 

“I’m gonna ignore her. Like always.”

 

“Except you never do.”

 

“Shut up.” Zack laughs.

 

“Seriously though, Trin. Fuck her. Just ignore her completely. Even if she keeps trying to talk to you. Just…completely ignore her and avoid her whatever you do.” Trini nods.

 

“I won’t. She can go fuck herself for all I care.” Zack grins.

 

“Good.” 

 

The bell rings loudly, and Trini sighs.

 

“Biology.”

 

“Ah. You’re first Kimberly test. Be good!”

 

“You be good.” Zack salutes her, and Trini rolls her eyes but smirks and makes her way to class. 

 

As soon as she walks through the doors, Kimberly looks up at her, and her smile immediately drops as her eyes fall down to her book. Trini frowns and makes her way to the back.

 

Zack’s right. She’s just gotta ignore her. 

 

Ty is sitting next to Kimberly, and he rests his arm across the back of her seat and grips her shoulder, a sly grin on his face as he leans in and kisses her.

 

“You look good, babe.” He says.

 

“Thanks.” She says, smiling at him. Trini rolls her eyes, turns her attention back to her book.

 

“That diet you’re on is working.” Ty says. Trini’s head snaps up.

 

Kimberly winces, but smiles and nods.

 

“Yeah. I gotta drop five more pounds or Amanda is gonna kill me.” 

 

“Well, you can do it, babe. I believe in you.”

 

“Do you think I need to drop the five pounds?” Kimberly says, looking down at her exposed stomach due to her cheerleading outfit. Ty shrugs.

 

“Doesn’t hurt to lose it.” 

 

Trini feels anger flood through her as Kimberly nods once.

 

“Yeah. I might drop a bit more.”

 

“Yeah? That’s good.” Kimberly’s smile falters, but then she leans in and kisses Ty’s cheek.

 

“Gotta stay on the team.” 

 

“If it makes you happy, of course.” Kimberly nods.

 

Trini fights everything in her not to tell Kimberly that she shouldn’t have to starve herself or attempt to lose weight to stay on the team, but it’s not her place. 

 

Kimberly’s not even her friend.

 

Trini finds herself spending the rest of the class alternating between drawing doodles into her book and looking at the clock, desperate for the school day to end so she can get back home and away from this place. 

 

As soon as lunch time comes around, Trini seeks out Zack, finds him sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, and Trini stops short in surprise. 

 

Billy Cranston is sitting with him.

 

Trini frowns and makes her way over to them, and as soon as she’s in his line of vision, Zack grins up at her.

 

“Trini! Hey!”

 

“Hey…” Trini eyes Billy, who looks at her with a smile.

 

“I’m just helping Zack with English. He’s struggling.” Billy says, and Zack nods.

 

“Found a new tutor.”

 

“Why? You didn’t have faith in me?” Trini teases, and Zack laughs.

 

“I did, but Billy’s smarter than you.” 

 

“Yeah…can’t deny that.” Trini says. Billy frowns.

 

“You’re smart, Trini!”

 

“Thanks, Billy.” Trini says, grinning widely. 

 

Trini sits with them, eats her apple and listens to Billy help guide Zack through the book that they’re reading for it.

 

Trini mostly tunes them out when it gets boring, finds herself looking around the cafeteria. She finds Jason Scott, star quarterback of the football team, sitting with all the other members of the team with a grin as he hovels down his food, the other boys cheering him on loudly, and Trini guesses that there must be some kind of bet on how fast Jason can eat his food by how fast he’s eating. 

 

“Jocks.” Trini mutters. Billy looks at her before turning to look at Jason, and he chuckles.

 

“Yeah. Jason likes competition. I’m not sure why.” Trini blinks in shock.

 

“How do you know that?” 

 

“We have Chemistry together. We’re partners.” Billy says with a smile. 

 

“Oh?” Zack says, and Billy nods.

 

“Yeah! He’s awesome!”

 

“He is?” Trini says in shock. Billy frowns.

 

“Is he not supposed to be?” 

 

“Well, he’s a jock. I mean if you go with the usual stereotype…” Zack mutters.

 

“I don’t know what you mean, but he’s cool! I mean we don’t hang out often, but he’s cool.” 

 

“I mean, sure. I’ve never really spoken to him, but sure. If you say so, Billy.” 

 

As soon as the bell rings signaling the end of lunch, Trini sighs and stands, bids goodbye to Zack and Billy as she makes her way to the bathroom before heading to class.

 

As soon as she enters the cubicle and locks the door behind her, however, Trini hears the sound of the door opening and the sounds of giggling, and Trini rolls her eyes and pulls the toilet seat down before sitting down on top of it.

 

Great, now she has to wait.

 

“You’re doing great with losing the weight, Kimmy!”

 

“Thanks, Amanda.” 

 

Trini’s heart sinks.

 

_Fucking seriously?_

 

“Yeah, and you and Ty look so fucking cute together! God, everything’s going your way.” Kimberly laughs.

 

“Yeah, seems that way.”

 

“You know, he’s been wanting to make a move on your for ages. He wanted to do it at my party, but you decided to suck face with new girl.” Trini hears Amanda say with a laugh. Kimberly chuckles. 

 

“You know she’s not new, right? She’s apparently been here for like a year.”

 

“What? No fucking way!” 

 

“Yup.” Kimberly says.

 

“Fuck, that’s crazy. Why does she like, keep to herself? Doesn’t she want to be popular?” 

 

“I guess not.”

 

“What a weirdo.” 

 

“She’s alright.” Trini feels her heart pound against her chest.

 

“Wow…must’ve been a better kisser than I realized, Kimmy.” Amanda says playfully. Trini hears Kimberly sigh.

 

“I’m not saying that-.”

 

“So she’s a crap kisser?”

 

“I’m not saying that either, jeez!” Kimberly says, laughing. 

 

“Well, was she good or bad?” Amanda asks. 

 

“She was…different.” Kimberly says. Trini frowns.

 

“Different?” Amanda asks, echoing Trini’s thoughts. Kimberly sighs again.

 

“Yeah, different, Amanda. I’m used to kissing guys with stubble, or just guys in general, who are like…you know…rough. Trini was…different. Soft.” Kimberly says slowly. 

 

It’s silent for a few moments.

 

“So it was good.” Amanda says with a tone of finality. 

 

It’s silent again.

 

“I guess.” Kimberly says simply.

 

For the third time, silence takes over, and Trini wishes she was anywhere else but here as Amanda suddenly scoffs.

 

“You turning lezzy on me, Kimmy?”

 

“Jesus Christ, Amanda. No, I’m not. It was just some stupid kiss. I was drunk, and a girl was worth ten points in a stupid game, that’s all it was.” Trini looks through the crack in the door to see Amanda watching Kimberly intently as Kimberly applies her chap stick on in the mirror.

 

“Right…if you say so.”

 

“I do. I regret the whole thing, she fucking hates me now, and she doesn’t even know me.”

 

“Why does she hate you?” Amanda asks with a frown. 

 

“I don’t know.” Amanda’s frown deepens before her eyes suddenly widen and she grabs Kimberly’s arm.

 

“Oh my god, Kimmy…Kimmy, what if she’s a lesbian?” 

 

Trini stops breathing. 

 

Kimberly laughs loudly.

 

“What? Come on, Amanda…”

 

“Kimmy, why the hell else would she get so pissed off about you kissing her? She’s totally a lesbian who’s totally got a crush on you!” 

 

“Amanda, don’t be ridiculous.” Kimberly scoffs. 

 

“It makes sense!”

 

“It actually doesn’t, but sure. Believe what you want.” Kimberly chuckles.

 

“I can’t believe you don’t see it! She’s totally a lesbian!”

 

“Okay, well, even if she is, so what?” Kimberly says, rolling her eyes.

 

Trini’s hands are shaking, she’s struggling not to pass out right now as Amanda crosses her arms over her chest and raises an eyebrow.

 

“So what? Kim-.”

 

“Get with the times, Amanda. It’s not 1950 anymore. Being gay isn’t a big deal.” 

 

“I don’t care if she’s gay, Kimberly. I care if she has a crush on you.” 

 

“She doesn’t have a crush on me, trust me.”

 

“Do you have one on her?” Kimberly’s eyes widen.

 

“What?” 

 

“Prove it.”

 

“Prove what?!” Kimberly exclaims, laughing in disbelief as Amanda grins.

 

“You know what to do.” Amanda says. Kimberly blinks.

 

And then she’s shaking her head vehemently.

 

“No. No, come on, Amanda, she hasn’t done anything to us-.”

 

“So what? It’s funny, come on!” 

 

“It’s not, actually.”

 

“So you care about her then?”

 

“That doesn’t prove-.”

 

“So do it.” Kimberly sighs in frustration.

 

“Amanda, seriously. Can we just leave it?”

 

“Nope. You have to do it now, Kimmy. Come on, it’s just a little fun. And it’s not like you care about her, it was some stupid kiss, right?” 

 

Trini has no idea what they’re talking about, but her anxiety is through the fucking roof right now and she’s struggling to keep herself composed-

 

“It was a stupid kiss, but I don’t want to do it, Amanda. It’s mean and completely unnecessary.” 

 

“Kimmy, just do it. We need a bit of entertainment in this school, it’s getting boring.” 

 

“I’m not doing it.” Amanda rolls her eyes.

 

“Fine. You’re boring.” 

 

“I’d rather be boring than mean.” 

 

The second warning bell rings, and Kimberly smacks her lips before fluffing her hair and nodding.

 

“Cool. Let’s go.” They both leave, and Trini collapses against the toilet seat and tries her best to breathe deeply.

 

What the fuck just happened? 

 

Amanda…Amanda knows, she knows-

 

Before Trini realizes what she’s doing, she’s pulling her phone out of her pocket and dialing Diana’s number.

 

She answers on the second ring.

 

“Trini?”

 

“Can you come and pick me up?”

 

-

 

“How are you feeling?” 

 

Trini jumps at the sound of Diana’s voice, sniffles and wipes her tears before turning to look at Diana with a weak smile.

 

“Still crap. I think it’s just a cold.”

 

“Your eyes are all puffy.”

 

“I’ve been itching them.” Trini lies hastily, and Diana sighs and makes her way over to Trini before resting her hand over her forehead.

 

“You feel a little hot.” She says with a frown.

 

“Like I said, I think it’s a cold.”

 

“Mmm…get some rest, I’ll bring you soup.”

 

“Okay. Thanks, mom.” Diana smiles.

 

“Of course, little one. I called the school and told them you’re sick as well. Everything’s sorted. You just sleep, okay?” Trini nods. 

 

“I will.” Diana presses a kiss to her forehead before leaving the room, and Trini sighs pulls the covers up and over her head as she bites down on her pillow to stop herself from crying.

 

She has no idea what’s going to be waiting for her at school tomorrow. 

 

What did Amanda mean by Kimberly having to ‘do something’ to prove that she didn’t care about Trini?

 

What is this something? 

 

Why was Amanda such a fucking bitch?

 

Trini has literally never spoken a word to Amanda, yet Amanda had pretty much ruined her entire day and possibly her entire life for what? 

 

No reason.

 

Because the school was getting boring.

 

Trini’s pretty sure there’s never been a bigger bitch at Angel Grove High than Amanda Clarke. 

 

But Kimberly said she wasn’t going to do it.

 

Kimberly refused. 

 

That’s something at least, right? She’ll be okay. Whatever Amanda had planned, it wasn’t going to happen. Kimberly refused. 

 

Nothing was going to happen.

 

Then why the fuck was Trini so terrified right now?

 

She can’t shake the feeling that something terrible is in store for her tomorrow, can’t shake the feeling that everything is about to be destroyed.

 

Fuck, this is bad, this is bad.

 

Why didn’t she just laugh off that fucking kiss? She’s an idiot, a complete and total idiot-

 

“Trini? Here you go…” Diana walks in, a bowl of soup in her hands, and Trini pulls the covers off herself and grumbles as she sits up in bed. Diana hands her the bowl, and Trini smiles as best she can.

 

“Thanks.”

 

“Of course. Are you going to be alright?” 

 

“I hope so…maybe I should take tomorrow off, you know, just in case…” Diana frowns.

 

“Trini, did something happen?” 

 

Fuck.

 

“No, I just…I don’t feel well.” Trini mumbles. Diana raises an eyebrow.

 

“Mmm…well, we’ll see how you wake up in the morning, alright?” Trini nods once.

 

“Okay.”

 

“The more you sleep, the faster you’ll feel better.” Diana says with a smile. Trini nods again.

 

“Right.” Diana chuckles, stands and exits the room, and Trini rests the bowl on her bedside table and sighs.

 

“No sleep for me tonight then.”

 

-

 

Turns out she doesn’t get any sleep either way. 

 

Trini spends the whole night tossing and turning, unable to stop thinking for even a second.

 

All she knows is that avoiding school isn’t possible. She’ll have to go back eventually. It’s better to do it now than later.

 

And it’s also possible that nothing is going to be waiting for her when she gets to school, anyway. 

 

It’s possible. 

 

“Trini?” Trini is pulled out of her thoughts and turns just as Diana puts the car into park and looks at her with a smile. 

 

“If you feel sick again at any point-.”

 

“I’ll call you.” Trini mumbles. Diana smiles, leans over the car seat and presses a kiss to her hair before Trini opens the door.

 

“I love you!” Diana yells. Trini smiles.

 

“I love you, too.” She closes the door behind her before turning to face the school with her shoulders square.

 

Time to face the music.

 

She makes her way up the stairs, finds herself relaxing slightly when no one seems to look at her strangely, and when she finds Zack waiting for her at the front door, she finds herself genuinely smiling.

 

“Hey!”

 

“Hey, crazy girl! Heard you were sick!” He says with a frown, and Trini winces.

 

“Uh, yeah. I’m good. Just a cold.”

 

“For only one day?” Zack says, raising an eyebrow, and Trini shrugs as Zack laughs.

 

“Should take a leaf out of your book.”

 

“No, you shouldn’t. You’re failing English.”

 

“And Maths.” Trini rolls her eyes.

 

“And Maths.” She mutters. She throws the door open, and Zack sighs and ruffles his hair.

 

“Right. About that. I’m thinking I’m gonna have Billy tutor me for both. The dude is fucking awesome, he explains everything so clearly…albeit a little too fast for me to get it, but he’s cool.”

 

“Hey, as long as he’s helping, I’m not complaining-.”

 

Trini stops short.

 

“Trini? What’s wro-what the fuck?!” Zack grips his hair, blinks in shock and looks at Trini’s locker in complete and utter rage.

 

Trini’s heart breaks.

 

Spray painted, in bright red, clear for everyone to see.

 

‘DYKE’.

 

Of all things. 

 

“Yo, what the fuck!? Who did this?!” Zack yells loudly. He spins around to look at the group around him that’s gathered, all of them whispering behind their hands and some of them laughing, and Trini’s ears are fucking ringing.

 

It’s over.

 

“Trini-.”

 

She’s walking.

 

She’s not sure where to, but her feet seem to be walking on their own, making their way straight to-

 

“Kimmy, watch out, dyke incoming.” Amanda says, laughing loudly.

 

Kimberly turns just as Trini stops short in front of her.

 

Kimberly’s eyes are wide, looking at Trini in shock, and Amanda rests her elbow on Kimberly’s shoulder with a sly grin.

 

“Can we help you, lezzo?” She says with a smirk. 

 

Trini only has eyes for Kimberly. 

 

Kimberly, who is looking at her with guilty eyes. 

 

Trini’s eyes move down.

 

Amanda’s hands have some red spray paint on them.

 

So do Kimberly’s.

 

“I asked a question.” Amanda says simply.

 

Trini looks back up.

 

Kimberly isn’t looking at her, is looking down at her feet and shuffling them.

 

The tears fall before Trini can stop them, and then she’s running.

 

“Oh look, she’s running! Run little lesbian, run!” Amanda yells, laughing loudly as the other cheerleaders behind her cackle, and Trini doesn’t stop.

 

She doesn’t stop running.

 

She can’t.


	4. I don't want your body but I'm picturing your body (with somebody else)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from “Somebody Else” by The 1975. 
> 
> Here's the latest chapter. comments are appreciated and you can also scream at me on tumblr at movinggforthesakeofmotion.tumblr.com

“I want there to be punishment, Principal Feige!” 

 

“I’m sorry, Miss Prince, but if we can’t find the culprit, there’s nothing that I can do.” 

 

Diana stands from her seat, glares at Principal Feige before crossing her arms over her chest. 

 

“Do you expect me to just sit down and take this lightly?” Principal Feige sighs, and his eyes move over to Trini, who drops her gaze down to her lap.

 

“Trini, are you sure there’s no possible suspects you have? Someone who’s said something to you-.”

 

“No. I don’t know who did it or who would want to.” Trini lies hastily, not looking up from her lap, and Principal Feige sighs.

 

“I promise you, we will do everything we can to find the culprits, Trini. And when they’re found, we will ensure the correct punishment is laid out.” 

 

Trini simply nods once, and Diana sighs and runs her fingers through Trini’s hair.

 

“I’m taking her home.” Diana says roughly. 

 

“No. I’ll be fine.” Trini says, looking up at Diana with a small shake of her head. Diana blinks in shock.

 

“Trini-.”

 

“If I leave, I’m just giving them what they want. They want me to be affected by this, they want me to be upset by it. I’m not gonna give them that satisfaction.” 

 

Diana raises her head, stares at Trini with nothing but pride shining in her eyes, and Principal Feige sighs and runs a hand through his receding hairline. 

 

“Well, if anything jogs your memory, or if anyone says anything at all to you, Trini, please…do not hesitate to come straight to this office and let me know.” 

 

“Okay.”

 

“Trini…are you sure?” Diana says softly. Trini nods.

 

“Yeah. I’ve got Zack.” Trini says with a sad smile. Diana sighs, leans down and presses a kiss to her forehead. 

 

“I’m a phone call away.” Diana mutters into her ear, and Trini nods.

 

“I know.” She whispers back. 

 

“We’ll let you know if any new information comes through, Miss Prince.”

 

“Good.” Diana says stiffly. Trini smiles as Diana grabs her bag, gives Trini one last small smile before running a hand down the length of her arm and walking to the door.

 

Trini watches her go, biting down on her lip to stop herself from crying as Principal Feige walks over to her and rests a hand on her shoulder.

 

“I am sorry about all of this, Trini. And I understand you not wanting to say something in front of your mother-.”

 

“I don’t know who did it, Principal Feige. But if I see anything, I’ll let you know, I promise.” Trini deadpans. Principal Feige purses his lips before nodding.

 

“Alright. Go on, you’ve already missed one period.” Trini nods, grabs her bag and slings it over her shoulder before making her way to the door. 

 

She’s numb. 

 

Completely and utterly numb.

 

How the hell is she supposed to face the school now?

 

She needs to talk to Diana about moving, about getting out of here-

 

“Trini?” 

 

She turns at the sound of her name, and blinks in shock when she sees Jason Scott, star quarterback, smiling at her as he shoulders his bag and makes his way over to her. 

 

“Hey…I heard what happened, I’m so sorry, Trini.”

 

“All good. Wasn’t your fault.” Trini mutters, making her way to the door, but Jason rests a hand on her shoulder to stop her. 

 

“I know, but…I’m still sorry. You didn’t deserve that. You’ve done nothing wrong.” 

 

“People are assholes, what can I say.” Trini shrugs his hand off, and Jason frowns, but doesn’t stop her as she makes her way to the door.

 

“Trini?” She stops, sighs and turns slowly.

 

“What, Jason?” She tries to say calmly, her voice only shaking slightly, and Jason squares his shoulders and lets out a loud exhale.

 

“If anyone gives you shit…you let me know, alright?” Trini raises an eyebrow, and Jason shrugs.

 

“I mean, the rest of the team won’t do shit, but I will. Like I said…you don’t deserve it.”

 

“I can look after myself, but…thanks.” And without a backward glance, Trini throws the door open and makes her way out into the hallways.

 

They’re empty, kids still in class, and Trini makes a beeline straight for the bathroom, desperate to get away from any prying eyes. 

 

As soon as she walks in, however, she’s greeted by the last sight she wants to see.

 

Kimberly Hart.

 

Kimberly Hart crying as she tries to wash the red spray paint off her hands, nails digging into the skin to get rid of the dye.

 

Trini stops short, and Kimberly looks up at the sound of her entrance.

 

“Trini…” She breathes. 

 

Trini turns immediately, goes to leave the bathroom, the school, the town of Angel Grove all together, but a hand wraps around her wrist and pulls her back.

 

“No! Please, let me explain-.”

 

“Let me go.” Trini grunts, desperately tries to rip her hand out of Kimberly’s grip as her heart pounds against her chest because this cannot be happening, cannot be happening at all-

 

“Trini, I didn’t do it, I didn’t, I was trying to get it off-.”

 

“I said let me go!” Trini pushes her back, her anger starting to boil over, but Kimberly’s grip is too fucking strong, and Trini ends up getting pulled through the door again, stumbles over her own feet and feels Kimberly’s hands grip her shoulders to steady her.

 

“Trini, listen to me-.”

 

It boils over.

 

Trini shoves her against the wall, pins her shoulder to the tiled bathroom wall and screams in her face, unable to contain it anymore.

 

“FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU, KIMBERLY! I DON’T WANT TO LISTEN TO YOU, I DON’T WANT TO LET YOU EXPLAIN! FUCK YOU!”

 

Kimberly is sobbing now, tears falling down her face as she grips Trini’s elbows to try and alleviate the pressure of Trini’s hands pushing her into the wall.

 

“Trini, please-.”

 

Her fist strikes out, knuckles slamming into the tiled wall right beside Kimberly’s head. 

 

The tile is already cracked, but this time it splits completely, a piece of it falling to the ground as Kimberly shrieks in shock. 

 

“I. Don’t. Care. I don’t care what you have to say. You’ve ruined my fucking life.” She’s trying to stay calm, trying not to break, but her voice is shaking, four octaves lower than usual because of how hard she’s trying to not to cry, but the tears spill over, falling down her cheeks before she can stop them as she bites down on her lips to stop them from quivering. 

 

Kimberly’s crying, whimpering as the tears fall down, and she nods slowly.

 

“Okay. Okay, I won’t…fuck, I’m sorry, Trini. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen, I didn’t, it was a stupid drunken kiss…” 

 

“What do you gain out of this?” Trini whispers, and Kimberly chokes on a sob.

 

“I didn’t do this…” 

 

Trini watches her for a long time.

 

“There was red paint on your hands-.”

 

“I was trying to get it off, I s-swear! I saw it when I w-was walking down the h-hallway-.”

 

“Amanda?” Kimberly bites down on her lip, nods slowly. 

 

“Why? I’ve never done anything to her-.”

 

“I don’t know, I don’t know…” Kimberly whispers, shaking her head as more tears fall, and Trini tries her best to breathe in through her nose before stepping back slowly, her whole body shaking and her heart pounding against her chest.

 

It doesn’t matter. Kimberly’s still friends with her…did nothing to stop her…

 

“She’s still your friend. You still did nothing to stop her. So fuck you. And stay the fuck away from me.” 

 

“Trini, please…please don’t say anything…” Kimberly looks at her desperately, and Trini looks at her in disbelief.

 

“Go fuck yourself.” She hisses.

 

“Wait-.” 

 

And then it happens.

 

Kimberly grabs her wrist.

 

And Trini spins around, hand flying as she slaps her right across the face.

 

The sound echoes around the room loudly, and Kimberly’s little yell of shock echoes with it, her hand moving to her cheek as she looks at Trini in complete and utter disbelief. 

 

“Don’t.” 

 

Kimberly swallows loudly, nods once and she closes her eyes and exhales loudly. 

 

“Okay…” She whispers.

 

And Trini turns and doesn’t look back.

 

-

 

“Trini…”

 

“Mom, p-please, I don’t w-want to t-talk about it.”

 

Trini’s clutching her pillow, holding it close to her chest, trying to get rid of the nauseating feeling in her gut as she tries to stop her sobs, but nothing seems to be working. 

 

“We don’t have to talk about it…please, just at least look at me, little one?” 

 

Trini grips her pillow, buries her head into it as the sobs overwhelm her. The heartbreak in Diana’s voice is hurting her even more.

 

“Trini…” Diana’s voice is shaking as she pulls Trini into her lap, and Trini curls up against her mother as Diana runs her fingers through her hair, cooing softly as she rubs her back gently.

 

“Breathe, Trini, please…” 

 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry-.”

 

“What? For what?! Trini-.”

 

“If I w-wasn’t gay, if-.”

 

“Stop, you stop that right now, I won’t have you thinking like that. Stop.” Diana’s voice is firm, and Trini swallows the lump in her throat, nods slowly and clutches her pillow as Diana leans down and presses a kiss to her temple. 

 

“There is nothing wrong with you, Trini. Do you understand me?” Trini nods again, and Diana sighs.

 

“I’m the one that’s sorry.” Diana whispers. 

 

“Not your fault.” Trini chokes out. 

 

“Do you want to leave? Trini, we can pack our bags and go right now-.”

 

“What about Zack?” Trini croaks out, turning to look at Diana sadly. Diana sighs.

 

“I...we-.”

 

“I can’t leave him.” Trini whispers. Diana smiles sadly, raises a hand to cup Trini’s cheek.

 

“You’re a good person, little one.”

 

“I learned from the best.” Trini says with a weak smile. Diana leans in and presses a kiss between her eyes.

 

“Trini, if you feel okay to deal with this, then we will. I’d change schools if there was another one in this town, but…the point is, the second it becomes too much, we leave. We just pack our bags and…I don’t know, move back to Gotham, whatever you want. Okay?”

 

“Okay.”

 

“Promise me.” Diana holds out her fist, her pinky extended, and Trini curls her own pinky over Diana’s.

 

“Promise.” Diana smiles, grips Trini’s shoulders and looks at her with fierce eyes.

 

“You never have to apologize for who you are, Trini. And I never want you to feel like you have to. You’re beautiful, and brave, and the best person I know. Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise.” Trini tries her best to smile as she nods.

 

“Okay.”

 

“Good. Now come here.” Diana pulls Trini down onto the bed, holding her close as Trini chokes back her sobs and curls up against her mother, taking in her scent and using it to calm herself down.

 

For now she’s safe. For now she’s okay.

 

-

 

“So, anything interesting happen at school today?”

 

Kimberly is silent, simply shrugs as she continues eating her dinner, and her mother frowns, but doesn’t comment, simply looks up at her husband, who clears his throat and begins the conversation anew.

 

“Well I don’t know about school, but work was crazy. This one patient…”

 

Kimberly tunes them out, stabs her fork through her food and tries her best not to simply break down crying. 

 

She shouldn’t feel guilty. She’s done nothing wrong.

 

She tried to take off that crap on Trini’s locker, she tried…

 

And now Trini blamed her for everything.

 

What the fuck was Amanda thinking?

 

How could she do something so cruel-

 

“Kimberly, you’re awfully quiet.” Kimberly looks up at her mother.

 

“I…I’m not hungry, excuse me.” Kimberly pushes back off the table and stands before making her way to her room, ignoring her mother calling her name as she runs straight to her room and slams the door shut behind her before collapsing onto her bed in a flood of tears. 

 

Amanda’s her best friend, but Kimberly can’t begin to condone what she did, she just can’t.

 

But at the end of the day, this was all her fault.

 

She’s the one who grabbed Trini at that party. She’s the one who kissed her. This whole thing had started because of one drunken mistake.

 

She’s ruined someone’s life because of one drunken mistake.

 

“I’m never drinking again.” She grumbles into her pillow. 

 

Trini…Kimberly can’t stop thinking about her.

 

What has she done? 

 

She has to fix this, but she can’t even begin to think of how.

 

How the fuck is she supposed to fix something like this? 

 

Her phone starts vibrating against her pillow, and Kimberly grabs it, looks at the caller ID, and groans loudly before answering.

 

“What, Amanda?” 

 

“Jeez, someone’s crabby. What’s up your butt?” Kimberly grits her teeth.

 

“Oh, I don’t know, my best friend completely humiliated a girl just because I kissed her? What the fuck is wrong with you, Amanda?” 

 

“Oh come on, Kimmy, it was a joke-.”

 

“She was devastated! She…fuck, Amanda, she was heartbroken, you can’t just go around fucking up people’s lives as a joke! Seriously? What did you gain out of this?!” Kimberly exclaims. Amanda scoffs.

 

“I gained a lot of laughter! And a lot of praise!”

 

“From who? Nothing about what you did is praise worthy!” Kimberly growls. 

 

“Alright, Jesus, I’ll apologize to her, okay?” 

 

Kimberly freezes.

 

“S-Seriously?”

 

“Yeah, if it means that much to you, I…I don’t wanna lose you as a friend, Kimmy. I’ll say sorry, I promise.” 

 

Kimberly blinks in shock.

 

“I…yeah, that would actually be great, Amanda.”

 

“Consider it done then.” Kimberly frowns.

 

She has no idea if Amanda’s being genuine without seeing her face, but her voice sounds genuine enough.

 

“Okay.”

 

“Anyway, so onto bigger and better news…” 

 

-

 

“I’ve got your back, Trin.”

 

“Thanks, Zack.”

 

“Anyone gives you shit, they’re going into the ground.” 

 

“I got it, thanks Zack.”

 

“I’m gonna pound them right into the dirt-.” 

 

“Zack! I got it.” Trini grips Zack’s hand, and Zack squeezes her hand gently and gives her a warm smile. 

 

“We’ve got this, yeah?” Trini takes a deep breath in.

 

“Yeah. Let’s go.” 

 

Trini makes her way up the steps of Angel Grove High, and barely makes it through the door before it happens.

 

“Hey, dyke!” 

 

Laughter echoes throughout the hallway, and Trini closes her eyes and takes a deep breath in as Zack growls beside her.

 

“I’m gonna kill him-.”

 

“Don’t.” Trini grabs Zack’s wrist to stop him, pulling him back as she opens her eyes to see Zack looking at her in shock.

 

“Trin-.”

 

“I’m okay.” 

 

“Hey, dyke, I’m talking to you-.”

 

Zack growls again, goes to run straight for the jock who’s yelling at her when Jason Scott suddenly grabs the jock that’s yelling by his jacket and tugs on it angrily before pushing him against the lockers they’re leaning on.

 

“Shut the fuck up, Ford!”

 

“Jesus, Scott, what the fuck?” Ford says, looking at Jason in complete shock.

 

“Stop being a dick!” Jason growls. 

 

“But-.”

 

“I said stop being a dick!” Jason hisses, anger burning in his eyes brightly, and Ford clenches his jaw, glares at Jason before he lowers his gaze and nods once. 

 

“Whoa…” Zack whistles under his breath. Trini doesn’t even realize she’s holding in her breath until she exhales loudly, her eyes locking with Jason, who looks at her sympathetically. 

 

“Well, at least you won’t have the jocks on you, Jason Scott will kick their ass if they say anything.”

 

“Great, that’s the football team who won’t say anything…it’s just the rest of the school I have to deal with, awesome…” 

 

“Glass half full, Trin…”

 

“Always been a glass half empty kind.” Trini mutters. She makes her way to her locker, her throat immediately closing up at the faded red spray paint that still stains the steel despite the cleaner’s attempts to scrub it off. 

 

“Hey…” Zack grips her shoulder, and Trini blinks back her tears and nods.

 

“I’m okay.” 

 

“Hey Zack!” They both turn to see Billy Cranston making his way toward them with a grin, and Trini gives him a warm smile as he comes to a stop before Zack.

 

“Hey, Trini! You ready for the History exam, Zack?” Zack’s eyes go wide.

 

“Fuck! Fuck, shit, I forgot-.”

 

“Zack, seriously?” Trini groans.

 

“It’s cool, it’s cool! I’ve got notes you can cram in!” Billy says, pulling notes out of his pocket, and Zack looks at Trini desperately.

 

“Go, I’ll be fine.”

 

“But-.”

 

“Stop. Go cram as much info as you can. Go.” Trini shoves him encouragingly, and Zack hesitates before he sighs and nods.

 

“Alright. Let’s go, Billy.” He claps Billy’s shoulder with a grin, and they both make their way down the hallway to History as Trini sighs and opens her locker door. She grabs the books she needs and shoves them into her bag before closing her locker door.

 

And coming face to face with Amanda Clarke. 

 

Amanda stares at her for a long second before popping the gum she’s chewing, and Trini clenches her fist, digs her nails into her palm to stop herself from punching Amanda straight in her face. 

 

“Hey.” Amanda says simply.

 

“And just what the fuck do you want?” Trini manages to growl through bared teeth. Amanda rolls her eyes.

 

“Calm down, would you? Kimberly’s watching and I’m so not in the mood to put up with her shit. So like, I’m sorry, or whatever, okay?” 

 

Trini blinks.

 

“What kind of fucking apology is that?” Trini says quietly. 

 

“It’s an apology, take it or leave it, dyke.” 

 

And once again: it boils over.

 

Trini grabs Amanda and shoves her up against the locker with a growl.

 

“Jesus Christ!” Amanda shrieks, hands immediately gripping Trini’s wrists digging into her shoulders. 

 

“You stay the fuck away from me or I’ll do ten times worse, got it?!” Trini roars, her fist striking out and slamming into the locker right beside Amanda’s head, a step by step repeat of yesterday afternoon with Kimberly. 

 

The locker dents, and Amanda shrieks again. 

 

“Whoa, whoa, Trini!” A strong arm wraps around her waist and pulls her away from Amanda, and Trini tries to fight it, but it’s completely and utterly useless as she’s dragged away into an empty classroom.

 

“Get the fuck off me!”

 

“You were about to rip her head off!” Trini rights herself just in time to see Jason Scott shut the door to the classroom breathlessly before he turns to face Trini with a chuckle.

 

“So what?” Trini spits.

 

“So, I don’t wanna see you get suspended…or expelled. You don’t deserve it, especially considering you’ve done nothing wrong.” Jason says. 

 

“You don’t know-.”

 

“That Amanda’s the one who wrote…that, on your locker? Not hard to figure out, she’s the biggest bitch in this school. Doesn’t mean you’ve gotta stoop to her level.”

 

“Me beating her face in isn’t stooping to her level, she’s…she’s sneaky and disgusting-.”

 

“And hitting her in the face makes you what?” Jason says.

 

Trini’s silent.

 

“Exactly. Look, hitting her, getting angry, that’s what she wants. I know it’s hard, but you’ve gotta let this shit roll off you, Trini.” 

 

“I…how?” Trini sags in defeat, tears threatening to spill from her eyes as Jason sighs and makes his way over to her.

 

“I don’t know, Trini. Find something else to focus on, maybe? Look, it’s none of my business what your sexuality is, Trini, but whether what Amanda said is true or not, you can’t let her get in your head. Trust me, that’s how these assholes work.” 

 

Trini watches him for a long moment.

 

“Can I ask you something?” Jason blinks.

 

“Uh yeah, sure.”

 

“How did you escape becoming one of those assholes? Considering you’re a jock and all.” Jason laughs loudly.

 

“My dad’s kind of a dick and…I kinda make it my life’s mission not to be like him.” 

 

Trini bites her lip.

 

“Jason-.”

 

“Hey no, this is about you, okay? Just…keep your head up, alright? That’s the only way you win against these guys.” 

 

Trini smiles.

 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” 

 

“I’ve got your back, okay?” Jason grips her shoulder, and Trini sniffs and wipes her tears away.

 

“Does this make us friends, Scott?” Jason laughs and gives her a sly grin.

 

“Only if you want us to be, Prince.” 

 

-

 

“I tried to apologize to that freak and she pushed me against the locker! She’s fucking insane, Kimberly!” 

 

Kimberly frowns, looks at Amanda as she clutches her shoulder as Ty watches Amanda with concern.

 

“She’s a psycho bitch.” Ty growls.

 

“Can you blame her for being pissed?” Kimberly says weakly. Amanda glares up at her.

 

“Can you stop defending that bitch and realize that your best friend tried to do the right thing and got attacked for it? All because you asked me to?” Amanda hisses. Kimberly sighs and runs a hand through her hair. 

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for asking half an hour later.” Amanda growls. Kimberly rolls her eyes.

 

“You’ve suffered worse. Twisted knee doing a full layout, remember?” Amanda glares at her.

 

“Whatever. Why are you defending her anyway?”

 

“What you did was wrong, Amanda.” Kimberly says, crossing her arms over her chest. Ty ruffles his hair and chuckles.

 

“I gotta agree with my girl here, Amanda. That was kind of fucked up.” 

 

“Oh shut up, you weren’t even part of it.” Amanda growls, shoving Ty away from her. 

 

“I’m just saying!” 

 

“You know what, fuck it! Whatever! The bitch is crazy, I tried to apologize, and she clearly doesn’t want to hear it! Let’s just let it go!” Amanda says, throwing her hands up in exasperation, and Kimberly lets out a sigh of relief.

 

“Sounds good to me.” 

 

“Come on babe, we’ve got Biology.”

 

“Oh great, with that lesbo.” Amanda mutters. Kimberly ignores her comment and grips Ty’s hand.

 

“Come on, let’s go.” 

 

-

 

Trini can hear the whispers, but she keeps her head down.

 

Everyone in the class is whispering and giggling under their breath, and Trini knows the whispers are about her, but she’s not going to give them the satisfaction of looking up.

 

She’s doing exactly what Jason told her to.

 

She’s not letting it affect her.

 

But it’s fucking hard.

 

And it only gets worse.

 

The door opens, at the sound of her giggle, Trini’s head snaps up to see Kimberly Hart walking in hand in hand with Ty Fleming. 

 

Trini feels bile rise in the back of her throat, and she ducks her head back down as Ty and Kimberly take a seat in front of her.

 

“Hey.”

 

Trini looks up at the sound of a male voice, and comes face to face with Ty Fleming, who’s smiling softly at her.

 

“Look, I’m sorry for what Amanda did. That was way uncool of her, and…I’m sorry.” 

 

Trini blinks in shock.

 

“Uh…thanks?” Ty winks at her.

 

“No problem. Kim and I totally let her know that what she did was uncalled for.”

 

“Right.” Trini mutters. 

 

“Anyway…I’m sorry.”

 

“Yeah, you’ve said that.” Trini deadpans. Ty frowns, but takes that as a sign that the conversation is over and turns have in his seat as Kimberly flashes Trini a smile which she doesn’t return. 

 

Trini blocks them out for a majority of the lesson, but can’t help herself from hearing snippets of conversation as they talk. 

 

“How’s that diet going, babe?” 

 

“Good. Why, I’m not skinny enough?” Kimberly teases. Ty chuckles and presses a kiss to the back of her palm.

 

“You’re beautiful just the way you are. I mean, everyone can stand to be a little skinnier, but…that’s up to you.” 

 

Trini’s head snaps up as Kimberly’s smile falters before she leans in and kisses the corner of Ty’s mouth.

 

“Thanks.” 

 

Trini frowns, but doesn’t say anything and returns to her work. 

 

This is absolutely none of her business. And after everything Kimberly had put her through, she doesn’t deserve any of Trini’s sympathy.

 

That’s it. Done and dusted.

 

As soon as the bell rings signaling the end of the school day, Trini packs her bags as quickly as she can, but it does nothing to stop the coughs followed by the whisper of ‘dyke bitch’, which is then followed by giggles and claps of appreciation on the back of the guy who whispered it, and Trini glares as he walks away. 

 

Following what Jason said is getting harder by the second-

 

“Trin?” She looks up to see Kimberly watching her sadly, and Trini shoulders her bag and moves straight past her, heading immediately for the front door to get the hell out of this purgatory she calls school. 

 

Zack meets her at the front, and he barely opens his mouth before Trini simply shakes her head and walks straight to the Ferrari waiting for her. 

 

As soon as Zack and Trini are inside, Diana’s looking at them both with wide eyes.

 

“What happened?” She asks immediately, and Trini shakes her head.

 

“Nothing. Let’s go home.”

 

“Trini-.”

 

“Mom, please.” Diana watches her for a long moment before sighing and putting the car into drive.

 

But it isn’t enough.

 

Because just as they’re peeling out of the parking lot, Trini sees Kimberly wrapped in Ty’s embrace, giggling and trying to move away as Ty leans in to kiss her repeatedly. 

 

“Alright, let’s go home.” 

 

Trini closes her eyes and nods, and despite her best attempts, she can’t help it.

 

All she can hear is Ty and Kimberly’s conversation, the words reverberating in her brain and the image of Ty and Kimberly kissing imprinted in her mind.


	5. there's a hope that's waiting for you in the dark (you should know you're beautiful just the way you are)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from "Scars To Your Beautiful" By Alessia Cara. 
> 
> I'm so sorry for how long this has taken. If you follow my tumblr (movinggforthesakeofmotion.tumblr.com), you'll know that I've been going through a lot of personal issues. I'm still going through them.
> 
> This has been the toughest two months of my life, and I pray you all can forgive me for how long this update has taken. Sometimes things happen beyond our control, and sometimes those things are traumatizing and incredibly life changing.
> 
> I'll try my best to get updates out regularly from now on, but don't hold me to that. There's a lot going on for me right now...a lot of it incredibly personal and hurtful. I hope you can understand.
> 
> That being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Comments, as always, are appreciated.

 

“Kimberly, honey! Dinner is ready!” 

Kimberly frowns at herself in the mirror, runs the flat of her palm over her exposed stomach with a sigh before answering.

“I’m not hungry!”

Kimberly drops her shirt back down, bites down on her bottom lip before she turns her attention to her phone, which vibrates and lights up as soon as she looks at it.

She flops down onto her bed, grabbing her phone as she does and unlocking it to see four new messages from Amanda.

**Amanda (4)**  
_Kimmy! I’m bored!_  
_You think I should have a party this weekend?_  
_Kimmy! Come on, answer me!!!_  
_You’re totally right, I should have a party. Done!_

Kimberly chuckles, shakes her head before typing out a reply.

_Glad I could help._

Kimberly quickly opens up her Facebook as soon as she sends the message, a small smile lighting up her face as she sees her relationship status.

_In a relationship with Ty Fleming._

Kimberly opens up her messages again, quickly sends a heart to Ty before opening Facebook up once again and scrolling through her feed. 

Kimberly’s smile falters when she sees a familiar name at the top of an image of Zack Taylor next to what looks like this mother, who seems to be resting in a Hospital bed. 

_Trini Prince commented on Zack Taylor’s photo._

Kimberly bites her lip in hesitation before opening the photo and scrolling down to the comments. 

**Trini Prince**  
_Are you sleeping over tonight, homeboy?_

Kimberly finds herself smiling when, a second later, Zack’s comment pops up.

 **Zack Taylor**  
_Sure am, T.P. Be there by 8._

Kimberly watches as bubbles appear before another comment from Trini appears.

**Trini Prince**  
_Cool. Mom’s making Beef Stroganoff._

Right next to her comment is a poop emoji, and Kimberly laughs out loud before closing the app altogether and throwing her phone onto the bed again. 

Her stomach grumbles, and Kimberly ignores it and jumps up before heading to the bathroom. 

“Kimberly honey, are you sure you don’t want dinner?” Kimberly hears her mother yell. 

Kimberly ignores her.

It’s not that she’s not hungry. 

Diets are hard. She’s gotta compromise. And that means no food sometimes.

It’s all good. Everything’s fine.

-

“BEEF STROGANOFF!” 

Trini jumps the last step and practically dashes toward the kitchen, where Diana holds out a bowl full of food to her as Trini grins.

“I’m so hungry!” She cries.

“I know, I can hear your tummy rumbling from here.” Diana says with a laugh as she presses a kiss to Trini’s hair. 

“Zack’s coming, by the way.”

“Good, because I’ve made enough for a small army, so it’ll be more than enough for him. God, that boy can eat.”

“Yeah…”

Diana watches her with a thoughtful eye for a few moments as she begins eating from her own plate of food.

“How was school today?” 

“Fine.” Trini lies with a shrug. Diana frowns, but Trini ignores her.

“Do you still need to go to Gotham this weekend?” Trini asks. Diana sighs and nods.

“Yes…Bruce is having trouble closing on a deal, he needs my charm. It shouldn’t take longer than a day or two, little one.”

“It’s okay. Take your time. Your job is what affords this house.” Trini says with a shrug, and Diana chuckles.

“You’re very right…but you know I’d give it all up to make you happy, right?” 

“I know…ride or die, huh?” Diana smiles softly.

“Exactly.” She says. 

“Well…good to know someone has my back.” Trini mutters. Diana frowns.

“Zack has your back.” Trini can’t help but smile and Diana rolls her eyes.

“I meant-.”

“No, I know. He does…but he has more things to worry about than his best friend getting outed…”

“Trini, he loves you. You know he does, he’d do anything for you.”

“I know, but his mom…she’s not getting better, mom. I’m the last thing he should be focusing on, you know?” Diana sighs, stands and presses a kiss to the side of Trini’s head before brushing her fingers through her hair. 

“You’re going to get through this, Trini. I promise. Everything is crashing around you right now, but I promise you…one day everything is going to be okay. One day you’ll realize that whoever doesn’t accept you for who you are isn’t worth your time…and when you realize that…that’s when you’ll know peace.” 

“I just…I’m proud of who I am, mom, I really am…but to hear people constantly whispering about me, to have them tease me for something about myself that I can’t change-.”

“I know, Trini…I know.” Trini groans and sinks against her mother’s shoulder, Diana pressing a kiss to her forehead before hugging her gently.

“I love you.” Diana whispers. Trini smiles and closes her eyes.

“Mmm…and that’s all I need to get me through this. You and your support.”

“Then you have it. Wholeheartedly and unconditionally.” 

-

“Kim, baby!” 

A smile immediately tugs up the corners of her mouth as she turns to see Ty walking toward her, arms wide open as Kimberly runs right into them and presses her face into his chest.

He chuckles, wraps his arms around her and presses a kiss to her forehead.

“Everything okay, babe?” 

“Mmm, missed you.”

“It’s only been a day.” Ty says with a chuckle, and Kimberly hums.

“Too long.” She says simply. He leans back before gripping her chin between his thumb and index finger and kissing her deeply. 

Kimberly melts into his touch, grips his letterman jacket and pulls him impossibly closer before the sound of fake gagging grabs her attention.

“Keep it in your pants, Fleming.” Kimberly rolls her eyes at Amanda, who looks them up and down with a disgusted look before she grins and wraps an arm around Kimberly’s shoulders. 

“How’s your lezzy friend?” Kimberly blinks in confusion.

“Huh? Who?” Amanda grins.

“Your little make out buddy.” It takes a moment for Kimberly to register what she’s talking about, but when she does, she rolls her eyes and shoves Amanda away.

“I don’t know, probably still recovering from your little ‘prank’. It wasn’t funny, Amanda.” 

“Oh, it was a little funny.” Ty chuckles, and Kimberly glares at him until he clears his throat and stops laughing immediately. Kimberly sighs before crossing her arms over her chest and turning her glare to Amanda. 

“You outed her to the whole school, Amanda. It’s not okay.” Amanda’s eyes widen.

“Wait, she’s actually gay?” She exclaims. Kimberly rolls her eyes.

“I don’t know!? Amanda, who cares if she is?! The point is, you shouldn’t have done that!” 

“Look, babe, if that chick really is gay, then yeah, okay, Amanda’s bad, but seriously, it’s just a joke. Isn’t it more offensive if she’s getting upset about being called a lesbian?” Ty says. Amanda nods and claps her hands.

“Exactly! Why’s she throwing such a big fit about being gay, like it’s such a horrible thing to be gay!?” Amanda says triumphantly. Kimberly throws her arms up in exasperation.

“I give up on you two. You just don’t get it.” Ty chuckles and hugs her from behind before pressing a kiss to the back of her head.

“Relax babe, Renee will get over it-.” Kimberly winces and pulls away from him.

“Trini…her name is Trini.” She mutters. 

“Whatever-shit!” Ty gets thrown forward, stopping himself just before he knocks right into Kimberly, and all three of them turn to see Billy Cranston on the ground, picking up the papers he’s dropped as he looks up at Ty in a panic.

“I-I’m sorry-.”

“Watch where you’re going, freak!” Ty growls, stepping forward, and Kimberly grabs his arm.

“Ty, stop! It was an accident, clearly. Here, Billy…” Kimberly bends down, begins helping Billy gather his books and papers as he looks up at Ty again.

“I…I didn’t-.”

“Shut up, dingus. Get out of here.” Ty threatens, and before Kimberly can say anything, Billy grabs his things from Kimberly’s arms and tears off in the opposite direction. 

“Ty, what the fuck!?” Kimberly stands up and glares at Ty, who blinks up at her in shock.

“What?!”

“It was an accident!” 

“The kid’s a weirdo, anyway, Kimmy-.”

“Seriously, what’s with you defending the retarded and outcast these days?” Amanda says, eyes narrowed in suspicion, and Kimberly is so shocked by her words that she’s frozen in shock for a few moments before she grabs her bag off the floor.

“Is it so hard to just be a nice person?” She demands, looking between Ty and Amanda, who both frown before Kimberly turns and makes her way down the hallway, ignoring Ty’s calls for her to come back.

And on the way, Kimberly passes Trini’s locker just as Trini closes it and looks up at her in shock before her expression turns stony. 

And Kimberly can see the faded red outline of the word ‘dyke’ still on her locker. 

Bile rises in the back of her throat, and Kimberly’s running straight toward the bathroom, pushing past someone who exits it as she runs straight into a cubicle and barely has time to lock it behind her before she’s throwing up into the toilet in front of her.

Nothing comes up, simply clear liquid due to the empty contents of her stomach, and the world spins as Kimberly’s nails dig into the side of the cubicle. Her knees throb with pain the second they make impact with the tiles, and she hisses in pain before gripping the toilet bowl, trying her best to breathe-

“Kimberly?” 

There’s a knock on the cubicle, and Kimberly thinks maybe it’s Amanda, maybe finally Amanda is being the friend she remembers her being instead of the bitchy cheerleader, being the friend who cared for people, who-

“Kim, it’s…it’s Trini…look, I just wanted to check on you-.”

She’s crying before she can stop, bawling her eyes out. 

Because Trini was traumatized by her and yet she’s still checking on her. Because Trini is selfless, honest, beautiful, inside and out-

And Kimberly is the opposite. Disgusting, selfish, horrible-

“Kim, I…please, I’m worried-.”

“Why?” Kimberly manages to choke out. 

And she swears, swears she hears Trini chuckle on the other side of the cubicle.

“I…I don’t know. Just am…can you open the door?” Kimberly bites down on her bottom lip in hesitation, and she looks beneath the cubicle to see Trini’s knees suddenly make an appearance as she sits down.

“Okay, you don’t have to open the cubicle, I’ll just…be here.” Kimberly watches as Trini’s back lays flat against the door, and Kimberly reaches out, wants to touch her…

“Do…Do you want water or something?” Trini asks, and Kimberly freezes before she sighs and leans back until she’s resting against the side of the cubicle.

“Yeah, please…” Trini clears her throat, and Kimberly can see her gripping her bag beside her, fiddling with it before she suddenly holds a bottle of water out underneath the cubicle. 

Kimberly reaches out, grabs it, and her fingers brush against Trini’s, the spark of electricity that hits her causing her to jump as Trini’s hand suddenly jerks back, and Kimberly stares at the space where her hand was for a long time before she takes a drink from the bottle in her hand.

“Thanks.” She whispers, pushing the bottle back toward Trini, who doesn’t extend her hand under the cubicle again, waits until Kimberly pushes it outside the door before grabbing it.

“Yeah…” Trini’s voice is rough, and Kimberly sniffs back her tears and hugs her knees before staring at the small part of Trini’s lower back that’s exposed from the gap in the door. 

“You’re a good person, Trini.” She says softly. Trini sighs, and Kimberly sees her shuffle a little.

“I guess…better than your friends, for sure.” She mutters the last part, and Kimberly chokes on a sob.

“Yeah.” She says, her voice shaking as she wipes away her tears.

“Amanda…” Trini starts, and Kimberly shakes her head.

“Used to be a good person…and a good friend…but then she got co-head cheerleader and ever since…”

“She’s become a bitch.” Trini finishes stonily. Kimberly chuckles weakly.

“Yeah.” She says simply. Trini says nothing else, and Kimberly’s thankful. 

She doesn’t want to hear it.

“I’m so sorry, Trini…for everything-.”

“Not your fault…thank you, though…for trying to get…’it’, off my locker.” Trini says with a sigh. Kimberly gulps down the lump in her throat.

“I never should’ve kissed you at that party…” She whispers. Trini’s quiet for a long time before Kimberly suddenly sees her hand move under the gap in the cubicle, fingers stretched out, like she wants Kimberly to take her hand.

“Probably not.” She says simply, and Kimberly stares at her hand for a few moments before she reaches out, unsure, uncertain…

But when her fingers lace with Trini’s, she squeezes Kimberly’s hand gently, and Kimberly finds herself smiling, closing her eyes at the warmth of Trini’s hand against hers before she lets out a shaky breath. 

“Thank you. For forgiving me.” Kimberly says gently. A squeeze of her hand.

“Nothing to forgive. You’re a good kisser. Wasn’t a complete loss.” Trini grunts, and Kimberly’s laughing for the first time in what feels like forever as she grips Trini’s hand tightly before wiping away her tears completely and letting go.

She stands and opens the cubicle, and there’s a loud yelp of shock as Trini falls back, her head hitting Kimberly’s knees before she throws herself forward and stands up. 

“Sorry, should’ve warned you.” Kimberly winces, and Trini frowns and adjusts her clothes before rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, you have a habit of doing things to me by surprise.” Kimberly bites her lip to stop herself from giggling, her eyes focused on Trini’s face.

On her eyes, more than anything.

They’re…blue.

But Kimberly could’ve sworn they were brown-

“Your…your eyes…” She says, stepping forward, and Trini tilts her head in confusion before her eyes widen in recognition.

“Oh, yeah. Contacts. I wear them every once in a while.” She says with a shrug. Kimberly stares at her in wonder for a while, unable to stop herself until Trini shuffles uncomfortable from her gaze and clears her throat to get her attention.

“Uh…so you’re okay now?” 

“Huh? Uh, yeah…sorry, yeah, I’m okay.” Kimberly says, pulling herself out of her stupor and smiling at Trini lightly.

“Thank you.” Trini nods, her lips pursed.

“You’re welcome.” 

“Seriously, you had no obligation to help me, especially after everything-.”

“Kimberly, it’s fine. I’m just…glad you’re okay.” Trini smiles gently, and Kimberly returns her smile.

“I am…thanks to you.” 

-

“Amanda Clarke’s having a party tomorrow night.” Zack says, jumping up and down on Trini’s bed. She glares at him.

“Great for her.”

“Trin, come on! We have to go-.”

“I don’t want to touch Amanda Clarke or anything to do with Amanda Clarke with a ten foot pole, Zack. No way. Besides, mom’s leaving tonight and she’s gonna be gone all weekend-.”

“So it’s even better opportunity to go to a party! You can come home whenever you want!” Zack exclaims, and Trini crosses her arms over her chest with finality.

“Not happening. You go have fun. But don’t expect me to pick your drunk ass up, that’s not happening.” 

“Trin-.”

“Not happening, Zack. No matter what.” 

“But-.”

“Trini! I’m heading out!” Diana calls out the stairs, and Trini ignores Zack’s pout and makes her way out of her room and down the stairs to see Diana at the bottom of them with a small suitcase at her feet. 

“I should be back by Monday.”

“It’s okay, mom.” 

“You know the rules-.”

“No parties. Don’t answer the door for anyone I don’t know…I got it.” Trini says with a nod, and Diana smiles softly.

“Good.”

“I’ll miss you.” Trini hugs Diana tightly, and she sighs and buries her head into Trini’s shoulder before pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“I’ll miss you, too, little one. Look after Zack.” 

“What?! Why does she have to look after me?” Zack exclaims, and Diana raises an eyebrow.

“Because you’re the irresponsible one.” Zack opens his mouth to protest, but Trini holds a hand up.

“Don’t even bother, you know she’s right.” Zack grins, shrugs as Trini sighs and nods at Diana.

“I got him.” Diana chuckles, tucks a lock of hair behind Trini’s ear before cradling her cheek and nodding.

“Alright. Stay safe.”

“You too. Bye, mom.” Diana picks up her suitcase, heads to the door and blows Trini one last kiss before exiting the house. 

“So…about this party-.”

“Zack, no!”

-

“I’ve invited the whole school, it’s gonna be fucking great, Kimmy-.”

“Wait, the whole school?” Kimberly’s attention is taken away from the book she’s drawing in at those words, her eyes focusing on Amanda looking through her wardrobe for options on what to wear to this big party she’s hosting tonight. 

“Yeah!”

“Even the outcasts?” Kimberly says with a raise of her eyebrow, and Amanda rolls her eyes.

“Of course. They shouldn’t be excluded.” Kimberly smiles softly, thinks maybe Amanda isn’t all that bad-

“Why? Want your little lezzy friend to be there?” 

“There it is…” Kimberly sing songs, and Amanda looks at her questioningly as Kimberly sighs.

“The whole school is a lot of people, Amanda-.” 

“You’re acting like I didn’t do this just a few weeks ago-.”

“Yeah, but even though you invited the whole school, the whole school didn’t show up. A lot of people didn’t come. But the Facebook event-.”

“Not one person not coming! It’s brilliant!” Amanda squeals with excitement. 

“Why though? What’s so different this time?” Kimberly says in confusion, and Amanda scoffs.

“Isn’t it obvious? No one wants to miss out on another big scandal.” She teases, and Kimberly frowns before she glares at Amanda.

“I’m not making out with another girl just so your party can be a hit.” She growls. Amanda grins.

“We’ll see.” She turns her attention back to her wardrobe, and Kimberly finds herself frowning before she’s subconsciously reaching for her phone.

“Shit…”

-

Trini hums along to the song playing from her phone, ignoring Zack’s angry shouts from her computer as he plays some video game when the song suddenly stops playing as a message rings through.

“Ooh, who’s texting you?” Zack teases, and Trini grabs her phone, sees the name at the top, and immediately freezes.

“Uh…no one. Diana.” She says hastily before opening the message.

**Kimberly Hart**  
_Are you coming to Amanda’s party tonight?_

Trini hesitates, looks up at Zack, who’s still preoccupied with his game.

_I don’t know. Probably not. Zack is though, I’m pretty sure._

She watches as the icon indicates that Kimberly’s read the message, watches the three dots appear and disappear a number of times before a reply finally comes through. 

**Kimberly Hart**  
_Oh, okay._

Trini stares at her reply for an incredibly long time, and it’s Zack that pulls her out of her stupor.

“What did Diana say?”

“Nothing. Are you still going to that party tonight?” 

“Yeah. Why?” Trini hesitates.

“I might…maybe decide to maybe come with you…maybe.” Zack blinks in shock.

Then jumps up and crows loudly.

“YES! WOO!”

“Shut up, god!” Trini groans, throwing a pillow at his head, which he dodges expertly with a grin.

“You won’t regret it, Trin!”

“Anyone gives me even a little bit of shit and I’m out of there.” She warns, and Zack nods.

“Of course! We’ll leave immediately!” He grins again, and Trini sighs.

“The shit I do for you…” She mutters. She grabs her phone again and bites her lip before typing out a reply.

_Should I not come?_

Kimberly doesn’t reply for a long time, but when she does, Trini hesitates for the eight hundredth time about going.

**Kimberly Hart**  
_Up to you…want you to be here, but Amanda’s probably gonna harass you…I’m sorry._

Trini sighs before she takes a deep breath in. 

_Are you gonna stop her if she does?_

Kimberly’s reply comes through immediately.

**Kimberly Hart**  
_Definitely._

Trini smiles.

_See you there, then._

-

The party is loud when Trini steps through the door, the music booming and the sounds of chatter and cheering echoing around her, and Trini can barely move from the amount of bodies filling up the house.

“Jesus, the whole school showed up!” She shouts in Zack’s ear, and he grins and gives her a thumbs up.

“It’s great!” He screams. Trini frowns, watches as he jumps into the crowd, and Trini can feel eyes on her, watching her every move with excitement, and she sighs and looks up at the stairs in front of her.

The ones where Kimberly kissed her.

She’s gonna avoid them at all costs tonight.

She’s heading straight toward the back of the house, desperate to get away from everyone and maybe have a moment to herself when a hand reaches out and grips her elbow.

“Hey!” Trini spins wildly, her eyes focusing on blonde hair, and she glares at Amanda, who hiccups and grins at her drunkenly before patting her head like she’s a child she’s congratulating.

“I just wanna say-I’m sorry-for the other party-you’re great! Even if you’re-gay-or whatever-you’re great!” 

Trini frowns.

“Thanks?” She questions. Amanda grins.

“See!? Kimmy was all like, ‘you need to apologize, like a psycho-.” She nods behind Trini, who turns.

And sees Kimberly and Ty making out against the wall, Ty practically pushing Kimberly against the wall as his lips attack her neck.

Trini swallows the lump in her throat, finally reels back into the conversation she’s having with Amanda.

“Hey, maybe she has a crush on you-.”

“Amanda, you’re drunk.” Trini says stonily. Amanda laughs loudly.

“Tell me something I don’t know!” She cheers, and Trini’s about to respond before she sighs and shakes her head.

“Too easy.” She makes her way past Amanda, tries her best not to glance at Amanda and Ty as she makes her way to the backyard, and as soon as the cool air hits her, she breathes deeply before reaching into her pocket for her cigarettes.

She makes her way past everyone milling around in the backyard, and is once again stopped by someone grabbing her elbow. 

“For fuck’s sake-.”

“Whoa, just me!” Trini looks to see Jason Scott smiling at her softly.

And right beside him is Billy Cranston.

“Uh…whoa.” Trini blurts out, and Jason laughs.

“Weird sight, huh? Billy’s a good kid. Everyone inside was annoying me. You smoking?” Jason asks, and Trini nods numbly before Jason pulls out a lighter and lights it before holding it up to the cigarette between Trini’s lips.

“Smoking is bad for you.” Billy says with a frown, and Jason chuckles.

“Trust me, she knows, Billy.” He says, clapping Billy’s shoulder as Trini takes a drag. 

“Billy told me you guys are chemistry partners.” 

“We are!” Billy says, beaming, and Jason grins and takes Trini’s cigarette from her before taking a drag.

“He’s helping me pass, big time.” Trini frowns, and Jason rolls his eyes.

“I’m not using him, Trin. He’s actually my friend.” Jason reassures her, and Billy frowns again.

“Of course we’re friends, why wouldn’t we be, Jason?” 

“Don’t worry, Billy-.” 

“I’m just paranoid. Been used by popular kids before.” Trini mutters, taking another drag from her cigarette. Jason frowns.

“She’s here tonight. Somewhere in there.” Trini nods. 

“I know. I saw her and Ty sucking face.” She deadpans. Jason sighs and grips her shoulder.

“Stay strong, okay? And away from drunk cheerleaders.” Trini chuckles, and Jason squeezes her shoulder before ruffling Billy’s hair.

“Let’s go, Billy. I told your mom I’d get you home by ten. See you later, Trini.”

“Bye, Trini!” Billy says with a grin, and Trini watches them go in shock as Jason and Billy joke around as they make their way to the front lawn to Jason’s car.

Jason Scott. Billy Cranston.

Friends.

Jason Scott is a much better person than she gives him credit for. She kinda feels like shit for thinking he was a horrible person now-

“Trini?” 

She jumps in shock at the sound of her name, turns and feels her heart pound against her chest. 

Kimberly Hart is making her way toward her, a small smile on her face as Trini takes another drag of her cigarette. 

“Hey.” She says simply.

“Hey…I saw you in there, I would’ve come sooner-.”

“But you were sucking face with your boyfriend. It’s fine.” Trini shrugs nonchalantly, and Kimberly sighs.

“Uh…yeah.” 

“You don’t need to check on me, you know. You probably shouldn’t be seen with me anyway, there’s a lot of gossipers in there.” She nods toward the house, and Kimberly frowns.

“So what, I can’t talk to you anymore?”

“I wouldn’t recommend it, unless you want everyone calling you a lesbian.” Trini says dryly, and Kimberly bites her lip.

“I’m sorry-.”

“We’ve done this about fifty times now, Kimberly. It’s fine. Not your fault.” Trini says with a sigh. She takes another drag from her cigarette, and Kimberly watches her thoughtfully.

“Smoking-.”

“Kills. I know. Heard it all before.” Trini says, waving her hand dismissively, and Kimberly chuckles.

“Try to have a good time, yeah? And if Amanda gives you any shit, let me know.” Trini watches her, contemplates telling her what happened the second she walked in.

Then shrugs and gives her a salute, watches her smile before she walks back into the house, swaying a little from what Trini guesses is probably drunkenness as she blows out smoke and looks up at the sky.

“Yo, Trini!”

“Not a single moment of peace?” Trini growls under her breath, looking up at the sky like it’s to blame as she turns to see Zack making his way toward her with a grin.

“I got us drinks!” 

Trini hesitates before she reaches for the Smirnoff bottle Zack is holding out to her. Zack blinks in surprise before he grins.

“You’re actually gonna drink?” He asks. Trini rolls her eyes.

“I’m already smoking, might as well fuck my health up even more.” She takes a swig, the burn in her throat almost welcoming as she exhales deeply and looks at Zack with a grin.

“Let’s have some fun, eh?”

-

The world is spinning pretty fast if Kimberly had to be honest. 

She’s not exactly sure how drunk she is, only knows she needs to find the one person she’s looking for more than anything.

She feels a hand grab her elbow, and she spins to see blue eyes and blonde hair in her blurred vision before the sound of Jason Scott’s voice echoes in her ear.

“Kimberly, you alright?” She stumbles into him, nods numbly as she smiles up at him, his face finally coming into focus.

“I’m looking for…for…”

“Ty?” Jason says.

And Kimberly finds herself nodding, even though a voice in the back of her mind tells her that’s not who she’s really looking for…

“Uh, last I saw him, he was heading up the stairs. I think he might’ve drunk too much.” Jason says with a chuckle. 

Kimberly nods.

“I go find him.” She slurs. Jason laughs.

“You do that, have fun.” 

She makes her way up the stairs slowly, her whole body betraying her mind as each step feels like she’s trying to walk through mud as she pushes past everyone on the steps, finally reaches the top and walks straight to the bathroom.

Except Ty isn’t there.

There’s Evelyn Richards and Scott Parker, making out heavily against the sink, both of them looking up at Kimberly like deer caught in headlights as they jump apart, and Kimberly mumbles an apology and closes the door before she finds herself making her way to the only room she feels comfortable walking toward in this house.

“Amanda?” She calls out, hand closing around the door handle as she shoves it open.

She freezes.

Bile rises in the back of her throat, and it has nothing to do with the alcohol she’s been drinking.

Amanda, on the bed, gripping the sheets and moaning in pleasure.

And Ty, Amanda’s legs wrapped around his waist, his pants off, his body moving rapidly as he grunts with each thrust, his mouth sucking on the skin on her neck-

She’s gonna throw up.

Amanda opens her eyes, sees who’s at the door-

“Fuck! Ty-.” She pushes him off, a look of complete horror on her face, and Ty follows her gaze. 

His mouth drops open.

“I…fuck, I-Kimmy-.” He’s struggling, desperately trying to pull his pants up, and Kimberly is trying so fucking hard not to scream, not to cry-

Too late.

-

“Trini, hey!” 

She’s feeling a little buzzed, Zack draped over her back and laughing drunkenly as Jason Scott makes his way through the crowd toward them.

“Hey! Jason!” Trini says with a grin, and Jason laughs and throws a glance at Zack behind her.

“He alright?”

“Very drunk.” Trini says, and Jason raises an eyebrow.

“And you?” 

“Mmm, little drunk! What are you doing back, I thought you took Billy home.” She says with a frown, and Jason laughs.

“I did. Then I came back. Still had some party left in me-.”

“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!”

The roar of a voice above them is so loud, so full of despair and anger and grief that the whole party suddenly freezes, the only sound the music as it continues pumping through the speakers two rooms away as there’s the sound of more incoherent yelling.

“KIMMY, STOP-.”

“DON’T FUCKING TOUCH ME!”

“Kimberly…” Trini mutters, looking up at Jason, who frowns before he makes his way to the stairs, Trini right behind him and dragging along a now coherent Zack behind her.

“Whoa, what’s going on-?” He starts, but all three of them stop short when they reach the bottom of the stairs to see Kimberly running down them, tears falling down her face as Ty and Amanda appear at the top of the stairs, both of them looking disheveled-

“KIM, WAIT-.”

Kimberly turns around to respond, but loses her footing and is about to go tumbling down the stairs-

“Kim!” Trini jumps forward, but Jason beats her to the punch, manages to catch Kimberly before she falls headfirst down the stairs as he looks up at Ty and Amanda with a frown.

“What happened?” He asks, and Kimberly is incoherent, crying loudly against his chest as Trini starts to put the pieces together.

Ty’s pants are undone, Amanda looks guilty-

“Fuck…she caught them.” Trini whispers to Jason, who looks down at Kimberly crying in his arms, then up to Ty and Amanda before he clenches his jaw and suddenly lifts Kimberly up into his arms.

“I’m taking her home.”

“I’m coming with you.” Trini says without hesitation. 

“Wait! Scott, let me explain!” Ty is barreling down the stairs, and Jason ignores him until he reaches the front door and Ty reaches out and grabs his shoulder.

“Jason-.”

“Don’t. Touch. Me.” Jason growls, turning to look at Ty angrily, and everyone is watching them intensely as Ty glares at Jason.

“She’s my girlfriend, you don’t touch her-.”

“She’s not shit to you right now, asshole.” Trini finds herself saying, stepping forward and pushing Ty back lightly. 

“Back the fuck off, dyke-.” Ty starts, and Jason growls behind her.

“You-.”

“I’ve got this, get her to the car.” Trini says through gritted teeth, and she hears Jason grumble behind her before Zack opens the door for him to exit with Kimberly still in his arms crying.

“Move out of my way-.”

“No way, dude. You wanna stick your dick in your girlfriend’s best friend, that’s your business, but you can’t talk to her when she’s drunk and distraught like this.”

“Our relationship is none of your business!” Ty yells.

“You just made it everyone’s business, asshole! Maybe next time, try and be more discreet about cheating on your girlfriend!” Trini yells back. Ty’s fist suddenly clenches and pulls back, and Trini winces-

A hand wraps around Ty’s wrist to stop him, and Trini turns to see Zack glaring at Ty like he’s about to murder him.

“You touch a hair on her head and I swear to god I’ll put you six feet under.” He says quietly, his voice heavy with threat, and Ty swallows the lump in his throat as Zack slowly lets him go.

“Trini…let’s go.” Trini turns, exits the door and hears Zack behind her as they both make their way toward Jason’s car.

“Well…I’m sober.” Zack says, and Trini laughs weakly.

“Yeah…”

As soon as they reach Jason’s car, they see her still curled up in Jason’s lap, crying into his chest as he looks up at Trini and Zack helplessly.

“I…I have to drive-.”

“I’ve got her.” Trini steps forward, touches Kimberly’s shoulder gently.

“Kim…it’s Trini…come on, we’ll take you home-.”

“No! NO! I don’t wanna go home-.” Kimberly chokes out, shaking her head against Jason, who looks up at Trini sadly as she sighs and nods once.

“Okay, I…my house is empty tonight. My mom’s out of town, you can stay there with me and Zack, alright?” 

Kimberly hesitates before she nods slowly, her breathing shallow and broken and Trini’s heart breaks as she looks up at Jason, who nods.

“Zack will tell you how to get there. Kimberly, come on, let’s go into the backseat.” Trini extends her hand, and Kimberly looks down at it before looking up at Trini with a trembling bottom lip, mascara falling down her face as she whimpers.

“It’s okay…come on.” Trini smiles as best she can, and Kimberly whines and pretty much launches herself into Trini’s arms, Trini stumbling back from the weight before she takes a deep breath in and uses all the training her mother gave her to lift Kimberly into her arms.

But not without difficulty.

She grunts from the effort, stumbles a little due to being a little drunk and simply not being strong enough to carry Kimberly, but manages to get into the backseat of Jason’s car as she pulls Kimberly onto her lap, tries her best to calm her racing heart as Kimberly wraps her arms around Trini’s neck more securely and cries into her shoulder loudly.

She smells like alcohol and sweat, like tears and perfume, and Trini brushes the hair sticking to her face from the tears away, tucks it behind her neck and coos softly as Jason pulls out of Amanda’s driveway and makes his way to Trini’s house. 

The car ride is silent, only the sound of Zack giving Jason directions and Kimberly crying echoing around them as Trini rests her chin on top of Kimberly’s head with a sigh.

“He…he…” Kimberly tries to say, and Trini shakes her head.

“Shh, it’s okay.” 

“I’m such an idiot-.”

“You’re not. God, you’re not, Kim. He is…just breathe, we’re almost there.” Trini whispers. Kimberly nods against her, and Trini looks up just as Jason pulls up into her driveway. 

As soon as Jason parks his car, he opens the back door and holds his arms out.

“I’ve got her.” He says firmly, and Trini nods, tightens her grip on Kimberly before whispering into her ear.

“Jason’s got you, he’s gonna carry you inside.” She says. Kimberly whines, shakes her head and moves closer to Trini.

“Don’t leave me…”

“I’m right here, I promise. I’m not going anywhere, I just…I can’t carry you, Kim. I’m not strong enough.” Trini says, chuckling weakly. Kimberly shakes her head.

“I’m fat, too big-.”

“Hey, no, what? Kim-.” 

“Come on, Kim. I’ve got you.” Jason says softly, smiling as gently as he can, and Kimberly pulls away from Trini slowly before collapsing into Jason drunkenly, and he sighs and lifts her with ease, grunting a little before looking at Trini sadly.

“Got the keys?”

“Yeah…” Trini shakes her head, jumps out of the car and grabs her keys from the pocket of her jacket before rushing toward the front door.

“Nice place.” Jason says, looking up at the house in awe, and Trini rolls her eyes.

“It’s a long story.”

“I’d love to hear it one day.” He says with a smile, and Trini chuckles as he walks in with Kimberly in his arms.

“Guest bedroom is down the hall.” Trini says, and Jason nods and makes his way down the hall as Zack sighs behind Trini.

“I’m gonna crash on the couch.” He says, and Trini nods numbly.

“You know where the blankets and pillows are-.”

“I sure do. Go comfort her, she’s gonna need it.” Zack says, no tone of sarcasm in his voice, and Trini sighs and follows Jason into the guest bedroom.

When she enters, Jason lies Kimberly down onto the bed and gently begins zipping down her boots before taking them off and pulls the blankets up over her body. Trini watches him fondly before he sighs and makes his way over to Trini with a sad smile.

“You think she’ll be okay?” He asks softly. Trini purses her lips.

“I hope so…I’ll keep an eye on her, don’t worry.” Jason nods, looks back at Kimberly sadly, and Trini nudges him.

“Didn’t take you for the soft type, Scott.” She whispers. He smiles.

“We were friends once…I care about her. Not in the same way you do, but…”

“Wait, what?” Trini blinks and Jason chuckles.

“Maybe one day you’ll open your eyes, yeah?” Trini frowns, and Jason ruffles her hair.

“I’m gonna head out.”

“You can stay if you want, Jason. Zack’s passed out on the couch by now, probably, but there’s another couch…it’s comfy, I promise.” 

Jason hesitates.

“Are…are you sure?” 

“Yeah, of course. No problem.” Trini smiles, and Jason nods once. 

“I…thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Steal a pillow and blanket from Zack, he always takes two because he’s greedy.” Jason laughs, grips Trini’s shoulder and squeezes it before making his way to the living room. 

Trini sighs and watches as Kimberly curls up under the blankets, her body shaking with what Trini assumes are sobs, and she makes her way over to brunette before crouching down beside the bed beside her.

“Hey…”

Kimberly looks up at her with puffy, red eyes, her bottom lip trembling as she reaches out to Trini with shaking hands.

Trini takes her hand, reaches out and brushes her hair away from her forehead before smiling softly.

“I’m gonna be right upstairs-.”

“Don’t…don’t leave me. Please, Trini…” Kimberly whines, her grip on Trini tightening, and Trini inhales sharply, tries to ignore her racing heart as she purses her lips.

“I…Kim-.”

“I don’t m-mean to m-make you uncomfortable b-but I n-need someone to b-be with m-me, p-please, Trini-.” She’s almost hysterical, and Trini nods reassuringly.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stay right here, I promise.” Kimberly breathes deeply and nods, and Trini bends down and slowly takes off her sneakers before moving around the bed and laying down beside Kimberly.

It’s silent for a while before Kimberly reaches down and grips Trini’s hand tightly.

“I d-did so m-much for h-him…did s-so much to l-look good for h-him, to b-be enough for him…it wasn’t enough. I’m n-not enough-.”

“Shh, no…” Trini squeezes her hand.

“I’m fat and u-ugly-.”

“Stop.” Trini turns to her side to look at her, and Kimberly turns her head, looks at her sadly as Trini reaches up and touches her cheek with a gentle smile.

“You’re beautiful, okay? Just the way you are. And if he can’t see that then he doesn’t deserve you, not one bit, Kimberly. He’s such an idiot for not seeing how beautiful you are.” She whispers. And she means it. 

God, does she mean it...

Kimberly licks her lips, eyes trailing all over Trini’s face, before she nods.

“Okay.” Trini smiles.

“Okay.” Trini turns to lay on her back once more, and Kimberly pretty much immediately curls up against her and rests her head on her chest. 

Trini inhales sharply again, and Kimberly whimpers.

“T-Too much?” She whispers. Trini wraps an arm around her.

She needs to get over it.

Kimberly needs her.

“No…it’s okay. I’ve got you, Kim…” Kimberly snuggles closer to her, sniffs before she begins crying, and Trini rests her chin on top of Kimberly’s head.

“I’ve got you.”


	6. Oh, I want you, I don't know if I need you (but, oh I'd die to find out)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from "I Want You" by Savage Garden.
> 
> again, thank you all for your patience. as you all know, i'm on holiday in australia at the moment, so updates are gonna be a little slow.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter. as always, comments are appreciated, and you can also message me on my tumblr, movinggforthesakeofmotion.tumblr.com

Trini Prince has had a lot of different, crazy things happen to her in her life.

She’s been given up at birth by her mother, only to be adopted by some tall, supermodel like Jewish woman to live a life of luxury.

She had become aware of the fact that she was gay at the age of fourteen and had gone through many months of trauma and fear over whether or not her mother would accept her for being gay, only for her mother to tell her she’d known since she was eight years old.

She’s moved from country to country, city to city, to end up in some shit hole town in California that no one’s even heard of.

Oh, and she’d woken up this morning to find the head cheerleader of Angel Grove High School was fast asleep in her bed right beside her, curled up against her like they’d been living together as an old lesbian couple for about seventy eight years.

Nothing fucking makes sense anymore.

Trini takes another drag of her cigarette, winces at the pounding headache that’s still pulsating through her brain as she sighs loudly.

Fucking alcohol and cigarettes is not a good mix…

Neither is waking up with a hot girl in your bed and a panic attack, but Trini’s full of bad mixes. 

She throws the cigarette over the hedge before making her way back inside, Jason Scott and Zack still passed out on the couches as she rubs her eyes tiredly and hesitates before sighing and making her way back to the guest room.

Kimberly is still asleep when she walks in, and Trini hesitates once again before taking a deep breath in and making her way to the bed.

She stops short before slowing settling down beside Kimberly, and it’s barely been a minute before Kimberly grunts and shifts beside her.

“You smell like cigarettes.” Trini chews on the inside of her cheek to stop herself from smiling. 

“Sorry.” Kimberly sighs, and when Trini turns her head to look at her, she sees Kimberly watching her with sad eyes before she rolls onto her back and looks up at the ceiling with tears in her eyes.

“I was hoping I wouldn’t remember…but I do.” She croaks out. Trini’s heart sinks. 

“Kimberly, I-.”

“Don’t. Don’t apologize. Not after everything I’ve done to you, I don’t deserve your pity. You should be laughing your head off at me right now. Revenge is the best dessert, or whatever the saying is…”

“I don’t know whether I should be insulted that you think that’s the kind of person I am, or insulted that you don’t know the saying ‘revenge is sweet’.” 

“Either way, you should be insulted that I’m even trying to get sympathy from you.” 

“Are you?”

Silence.

“Depends. Do you?” 

“Do I what?”

“Feel any sympathy?”

“The only thing I feel right now is angry. And sad.”

“Why?”

“Because I wouldn’t wish what happened to you on my worst enemy. Which also kind of happens to be you.” 

Kimberly laughs.

And then she’s crying.

Not loudly, just soft whimpers escaping her as she lifts her hands to her face and cries into them, and Trini sighs and runs a finger down her forearm.

“I’m sorry, Kimberly. He’s…they both-.”

“Stop. I don’t want to think about it.” She muffles out. Trini sighs.

“What can I do to take your mind off it?” She asks softly.

It’s silent for a long time again.

Trini’s not even remotely aware of how Kimberly’s deconstructing that sentence in her mind.

Kimberly moves her hands away from her face slowly, reaches down and interlaces her fingers with Trini’s, and then she’s staring at the ceiling for a long time as Trini watches her with a frown, ,unsure of what exactly is happening right now-

“That kiss…it changed everything, didn’t it?” Kimberly whispers. 

Trini pauses.

“In what way? I’m not saying it didn’t, I’m just…” She trails off, and Kimberly shakes her head.

“Nothing.” She croaks out. Trini sits up slowly and turns, leans against her hand so she’s hovering slightly beside Kimberly and looking down at her with a frown. 

“Kim, you can talk to me, you know that, right?” Trini says gently, giving her fingers a gentle squeeze, and Kimberly smiles and nods.

“I know, I’m just…I don’t want you to take what I wanted to say the wrong way.” 

“What do you mean?” 

Kimberly swallows loudly before her gaze lowers down to their intertwined hands. 

“You asked me what you could do to take my mind off it…” 

Trini’s mouth goes dry all of a sudden, her heart beating erratically, and it’s like her body understands what Kimberly is saying before her brain does.

“Yeah, I did.” She says simply. 

Kimberly licks her lips.

Finally looks up and makes eye contact with her. 

“I-.”

“Trini?”

It’s the knock at the door and the sound of her name that has Trini jumping up before she can even begin to process what Kimberly might have been about to say, her mind spinning as she turns to the door just as Jason pokes his head in before smiling and walking in.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to wake you guys-.”

“You didn’t!” Trini and Kimberly pretty much yell at the same time, and they exchange a look as Jason frowns before chuckling and shaking his head.

“Uh, okay, um…I’m gonna head home, I figured I’d come and ask Kim if she wanted a ride.” 

It’s silent for a few moments, and Kimberly clears her throat as Trini looks down at her.

And finds her nodding her head.

“Uh, yeah…yeah, I’ll be out in a second.” 

Jason raises an eyebrow.

“Uh, okay. Thanks for letting me stay the night by the way, Trini. Zack’s still passed out on the couch.”

“Yeah, he won’t wake up till at least the afternoon. Thanks for looking after us last night.”

“Any time. See you at school tomorrow.” 

He smiles before closing the door behind him softly, and Trini turns to look back at Kimberly, who bites her lip before looking up at Trini sheepishly.

“Uh…”

“You-.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t-.”

“Kim, what were you about to say?” Trini asks, her voice low and her heart beating wildly, and Kimberly clears her throat, looks at her with eyes filled with fear before she shakes her head and stands. 

“I…I’ll call you later, okay?” Kimberly says, clearing her throat as she stands, and Trini tries her best to ignore the tears stinging her eyes as she nods.

“Yeah, no problem. Talk to you later.” 

“Trini, don’t be upset, please. I want to talk, I just…I need to get home-.”

“It’s fine, Kim. Go get changed and shower, we’ll talk later, like you said.” Trini smiles as best she can, and Kimberly watches her for a few moments before she nods.

“Okay.” She stands, makes her way to the door and hesitates, and Trini is shocked when she runs forward and presses a kiss to her cheek before walking to the door again. 

As soon as she’s gone, Trini collapses onto the bed with a groan as tears threaten to spill from her eyes.

Now she’s not gonna be able to stop thinking about it.

What was Kimberly thinking? What was she about to say?

Damn Jason Scott and his horrible fucking timing…

-

She doesn’t hear from Kimberly until it’s almost midnight.

Zack heads to the hospital as soon as he wakes up, and Trini finds herself alone in the house for a majority of the afternoon and night, unable to sleep as every creaking sound of the house or the wind blowing outside has her on edge. 

She never did recover from the nightmares of monsters as a kid.

It’s almost midnight, and Trini decides she might as well attempt to get some sleep seeing as she has school tomorrow, and she’s under the covers and on the verge of sleep when her phone buzzes.

She’s grabbing her phone, alert and wide awake with half a second, and the disappointment that floods her when she sees a name that isn’t Kimberly’s staring back at her is hard to ignore as she opens the message with a sigh.

**Mamma**   
_I’ll be home tomorrow night, little one._

Trini simply sends her a heart in reply, and she’s about to lock her phone when a loud bang at the window causes her to jump so hard, her phone goes flying over the side of her bed.

“Shit!”

Trini jumps out of her bed and grabs the baseball bat next to her wardrobe as a shadowy figure appears on the wall, illuminated by the moonlight outside as the window slides up-

Trini yells and rushes straight for the window, bat raised, and she’s about to strike when a loud yell causes her to pause.

“It’s me! It’s Kim!” 

Trini simply stares at her, her whole body shaking and her heart pounding against her chest as she breathes heavily, Kimberly gripping onto the window sill as she looks at Trini with wide eyes.

“What the fuck, Kim!?” Trini growls after at least a full ten seconds, and Kimberly clambers through the window quite ungracefully, landing on a heap on the ground before she straightens up and fixes her hair before grinning at Trini widely.

“Sorry! I was gonna knock, but I figured you wouldn’t answer because you’re home alone.”

“And you didn’t think a text would work?” Trini hisses. Kimberly’s eyes widen.

“Shit.”

“Oh for god’s sake…” Trini lets her baseball bat collapse onto the ground as she rolls her eyes in exasperation, and Kimberly reaches out and grips her hand.

“I’m sorry! I wasn’t thinking straight, I just…I needed to see you, that’s the only thing I could think about.” Trini lets out a deep breath before turning to look at Kimberly, her face barely visible in the moonlight as she stares at Trini in anticipation.

“Is this the part where we talk?” Trini asks somewhat nervously. Kimberly chuckles under her breath. 

“We don’t have to if-.”

“No, I…I want to know what you were going to say.” Trini says firmly. Kimberly stares at her for a long time before she nods and walks over to Trini’s bed slowly before sitting down on it.

“Your room is nice.” She says softly. Trini rolls her eyes for the second time in two minutes and makes her way over to sit down next to Kimberly.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You’re stalling.”

“I am.”

“Why?”

“I’m nervous.”

“Again, why?”

“Because you might not like what I have to say.”

“Won’t know until you say it.”

Silence. 

Kimberly licks her lips, runs a hand through her hair before looking up at Trini.

“Ty’s been texting me all day. I haven’t been replying.”

“Good.”

“So has Amanda. I replied to her…told her to fuck off and never speak to me again.” 

Trini doesn’t say anything. Kimberly glares off into the distance coldly.

“You know I could ruin her life so easily. She’s sent me stuff…stuff that probably shouldn’t be sent to anyone, but she sent them to me. I could so easily send those things to everything, ruin her life like she’s ruined mine-.”

“Then you’d be just as bad as she is.” Trini says firmly. Kimberly looks up at her in shock.

“What?” She whispers. Trini sighs. 

“You’re not a bad person, Kimberly. I believe that. Amanda, on the other hand…she’s a shit person. Don’t stoop to her level to make yourself feel better. Trust me, you won’t. The best revenge…pretend they don’t exist. Pretend they never hurt you, like their existence meant nothing and means nothing to you. Show them that you’re gonna be just fine without them. That’s how you win.” 

Kimberly scoffs before looking at Trini with a raised eyebrow. 

“Talking from experience?” 

“No, more like my mom drilled it into me since I was young that being a mean person doesn’t benefit you in like in any way possible…and that doing things out of your nature will only make you lose yourself along the way.”

“Sounds like your mom is amazing.”

“She is.”

“Where is she, anyway?”

“On a business trip. You’re stalling again, Kim.” 

“Right, shit…sorry.” Kimberly twists her fingers in her lap, looks down at them to avoid eye contact, and Trini reaches out and wraps her fingers around her wrist gently.

“What were you going to say, Kimberly?” Trini whispers. Kimberly bites down on her bottom lip, looks up at Trini before letting out a shaky breath.

“I still mean what I said. I don’t want you to take this the wrong way.”

“I can’t know what the wrong way is unless I know what IT is, Kim.” Trini says with a breathless laugh. Kimberly chuckles.

“Right.” She runs a hand through her hair again before she suddenly turns to face Trini properly. 

“I was going to say…that…” She trails off, shaking her head, and Trini inches closer.

“What?” She whispers. Kimberly looks up at her, tears clinging to her eyelashes as she bites down on her lower lip again.

“I want to kiss you.” Kimberly breathes. 

Trini doesn’t even know why, but it takes her ten seconds to respond, and it’s not at all what she’s thinking in the moment.

“You probably shouldn’t.” Kimberly, to her surprise, laughs and shakes her head.

“I probably shouldn’t.”

“Do you need to?”

“No. But I want to.” 

Silence.

“This could ruin everything.”

“It could.”

“But you want to.”

“I want to. Badly.” 

“Does want override need?” 

“Sometimes.”

“What about now?” 

“Trini?” 

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.”

And then Kimberly’s surging forward and wrapping a hand around the back of her neck, lips crashing against Trini’s lightly despite the aggression of her nails digging into Trini’s skin at the back of her neck, and it’s Trini that pushes herself closer, Trini who cups Kimberly’s jaw and deepens the kiss desperately, and she’ll be fucking damned, that watermelon chap stick tastes the exact fucking same as she remembers-

It’s unconscious. Completely and utterly unconscious, how her fingers skate over the hem of Kimberly’s shirt before they move under it, and the second her cold fingers make contact with the heated skin of Kimberly’s stomach, she’s arching into Trini’s touch with a groan before pulling Trini down on top of her, attacking Trini’s lips again, who unconsciously moves down to Kimberly’s jaw before moving down to her throat, Kimberly’s fingers gripping her hair as she takes Kimberly’s skin between her teeth and sucks gently, and Kimberly’s legs squeeze beneath her body as she whines-

“Trini-.”

“Right, I’m sorry-.” Trini backs off breathlessly, but Kimberly pulls her back down for another kiss, shaking her head as she does as she whispers against her lips desperately-

“No, don’t stop, please don’t stop…” 

Trini’s mind is spinning and it doesn’t seem to want to stop.

She’s kissing Kimberly Hart.

Kimberly Hart, head cheerleader, the most popular girl in school-

The reason her life has been hell for the last two weeks-

“Kim, what…fuck, what are we doing?” Trini breathes, pulling away and looking Kimberly in the eyes, desperate to find some form of an answer inside them, but all Kimberly does is groan and lick her lips before shaking her head.

“I don’t know, shit, I’m…I’m sorry, Trini, I shouldn’t have just attacked you like that-.”

“Kim, look at me.” Trini pushes herself up on her arms until she’s hovering above Kimberly’s body, and Kimberly’s fingers skim over the skin on her stomach, goosebumps immediately erupting onto Trini’s skin at her touch as she looks up at Trini with hooded eyes. 

“Trini…” Her hand skates up, lifting her shirt slightly before coming to rest on her jawline, her thumb brushing across Trini’s lower lip, and Trini swallows down a groan dryly and looks Kimberly in the eyes as she whispers her next words.

“Do you need this?” She whispers. Kimberly hesitates before she shakes her head.

“I don’t know.” She whispers back. Trini adjusts herself slightly, lowers her body slightly until her lips are inches away from Kimberly’s.

“Do you want this?” She asks instead, her voice hoarse, and Kimberly whines, nods without hesitation, licking her lips once more, words escaping her as Trini breathes out shakily against her.

“Does want override need?” Trini asks again, and this time, Kimberly meets her gaze before leaning up slightly into her touch.

“Kiss me and find out.” She breathes. 

Trini swallows the lump in her throat, tries to stop the shakiness in her limbs as she closes the distance between them and kisses her softly, lips as gentle as possible, teasing, lingering-

Kimberly growls in frustration and suddenly spins them, pushing Trini onto her back and into the bed as she kisses her, and Trini’s fingers are roaming unconsciously, under Kimberly’s shirt, scratching at the heated skin of her stomach-

A phone ringing loudly causes them both to jump apart, Kimberly leaning back off her with a wild gasp as falls back against the headboard, and Trini sits up, looking around for the source of the noise before she finds her phone buzzing on her pillow.

“Shit.” She grabs it, looks at the caller ID to see Zack’s number as she lets out a deep sigh.

“It’s Zack.” She murmurs, and Kimberly purses her lips and nods, hugs her knees as Trini answers the call with her heart beating against her chest painfully.

“Yeah?” She says, voice hoarse as she wipes away that fucking watermelon chap stick from her lips.

“Hey, I’m staying at the Hospital tonight. Mom’s not feeling so good, so I wanna stay with her.” 

Concern immediately grips Trini, and she almost forgets what happened just moments prior as she frowns and swallows once.

“Is…is everything okay?” 

“Yeah, she’s just…they started her on this new medication, some kind of trial drug, and one of the side effects is fatigue and exhaustion so she’s just…a lot more tired than usual. Don’t worry, I’m keeping an eye on her. You gonna be okay all alone?” 

Trini looks up at Kimberly guiltily, who smiles sheepishly and hugs her knees a little tighter as Trini runs a shaking hand through her hair.

“Yeah, I’m…I’m good. Tell your mom I said hi and to keep her chin up, okay?” 

“You got it, T.P. I’ll see you at school tomorrow, okay?”

“Sure thing. Bye, Zack.” 

“Bye, Trin.” She hangs up slowly, stares at the phone blankly for a few moments before looking up at Kimberly again, who bites her lip and chuckles nervously before shaking her head and running her hands through her hair. 

“Um…”

“Yeah.” Trini says simply, letting out a shaky laugh, and Kimberly sighs before inching closer to Trini, her hand reaching out to grip hers, which Trini takes, interlacing their fingers with a light smile. 

“What are we doing, Kim?” She whispers. Kimberly bites her lip again.

“I don’t know. I just…I know that I care about you. A lot. And that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that night that we kissed the first time. At first I thought I was just looking out for you, but I found myself getting mad every time Ty or Amanda said something mean about you, and…and, last night before I found…I found Ty and Amanda, I found myself not even looking for them…I was looking for you. And then I saw them...and it’s like I was subconsciously seeking you out, but you were already there at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for me…”

“I heard you yelling, I knew it was bad…I wanted to make sure you were okay…” Trini mutters, and Kimberly groans and suddenly reaches out, finger curling into Trini’s shirt before she pulls her forward until their foreheads are touching.

“That’s what I mean, fuck…I have done nothing but make your life hell and yet you still wanted to make sure I was okay? Fuck, you’re such a good person, Trini, and I can’t…I can’t stop thinking about you. I can’t stop myself from thinking that I would give anything to be the kind of person you are.”

“You can be, Kimberly. No one’s stopping you.” Trini says with a chuckle, and Kimberly laughs softly and shakes her head against Trini’s before pulling back and looking her in the eyes.

“The people I hang out with stop me. My fucking status at that stupid school stops me…but you…you make me a better person, Trini. You’re good for me. But…I don’t know if I’m good for you. I don’t know if I make you a better person-.”

“That’s not for you to decide. That’s for me to decide.” Trini says firmly, and Kimberly bites her lip.

“What’s the verdict?” She whispers. Trini sighs.

Pauses with hesitation and thinks.

“I think…that you drive me fucking crazy. And I think that you’re probably not good for me. But that doesn’t mean I can’t stop myself from wanting you.” 

Trini can’t begin to process what she’s even saying, but Kimberly’s breath hitches at her words, and she’s leaning closer again, her lips trembling as Trini grabs the necklace around her neck and uses it to tug Kimberly closer, a soft whine escaping her at the action before she bites down ever so gently on Kimberly’s lower lip before kissing her softly-

“Trini?” 

“Mmm?” Trini pulls back, revels in the fact that Kimberly follows her movements almost subconsciously before pulling back at staring at Trini with soft eyes.

“Can I start hanging out with you at school?” Trini smiles.

“What will everyone say?”

“I don’t really care what they say.” Kimberly whispers. Trini chuckles before she nods once.

“Of course you can.” Kimberly hums softly, clears her throat before holding her hand out.

“Friends?” She asks, and Trini raises an eyebrow before shaking her hand.

“Only?” She teases. Kimberly bites her lip to stop herself from smiling before she interlaces their fingers.

“Mmm…for now.” 

-

To say everyone stares when Kimberly Hart walks through the doors of Angel Grove High School is an understatement.

The entire hallway suddenly freezes, like Ariana Grande herself has walked through the doors, mouths dropping open and eyes filled with excitement as Kimberly sighs and looks to the left of her.

Where Trini is standing.

She gives her an encouraging nod, and Kimberly straightens up and holds her head up high as she squares her shoulders and begins walking forward.

But she’s about halfway through the hallways when the stares become a bit much, and she’s suddenly stopping and looking all around her before throwing her hands up in exasperation.

“Okay, yes! I caught my boyfriend cheating on me! Big deal! I’ve moved on, so should all of you!”

Nobody moves, says a word, and Kimberly glares at all of them before looking at Trini in desperation.

Trini sighs and steps forward.

“Keep staring and I’ll pull your underwear out through your mouth!” She shouts, and everyone immediately averts their gazes, whispers spreading throughout the place as Kimberly lets out a sigh of relief. 

“Jesus, I don’t know how you dealt with this before.”

“Karma’s a bitch I guess.”

“Hey…” Kimberly nudges her with a sad pout, and Trini rolls her eyes and nudges her back.

“You’ll get used to it, Princess.” 

“You’re the Princess, Prince-.”

“Kimmy?”

Trini’s heart drops the second she hears that familiar voice, and she can practically feel Kimberly stiffen beside her as Trini turns to see Amanda approaching them both with nothing but guilt shining in her eyes.

“Kimmy, please-.”

“Keep walking if you know what’s good for you.” Kimberly says through gritted teeth, still not turning to face Amanda, and Amanda shakes her head as tears gather in her eyes.

“It was a mistake, Kim, please-.”

“KIMMY!”

“Ah, shit…” Trini rubs her forehead, a headache already forming behind her eyes as Ty Fleming begins racing down the hallway toward them, a desperate look in his eyes as he comes to a stop beside Amanda.

“Kimmy, please, baby-.”

“Okay, I’m gonna stop you there, you forfeited the right to call her anything cute when you cheated on her.” Trini says firmly, and Ty glares at her before clenching his jaw and ignoring her.

“Kim-.”

“If both of you don’t leave in the next five seconds, one of you is getting punched in the face. Decide.” Trini growls, her hands immediately clenching into fists, and Trini doesn’t really wanna punch anyone, but Kimberly is starting to shake beside her and she can’t help but feel protective-

“Shut up, you dumb dyke-.”

Trini doesn’t even get a hit in.

One second, Ty’s talking, the next, he’s on the ground clutching his jaw, blood pouring from his mouth as Amanda shrieks in terror.

And Kimberly is hissing in pain and clutching her clenched fist in complete and utter pain, tears immediately welling in her eyes as Trini looks down at Ty with a grin.

“Told you.”


	7. baby i done, done enough talking (need to know that you're mine)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from "Now Or Never" by Halsey.
> 
> sorry for the wait. comments are appreciated, or you can shoot a message my way at movinggforthesakeofmotion.tumblr.com

“Miss Hart, what you did was inexcusable! Do you want to tell me what on Earth caused you to punch Mr. Fleming in the face?” 

Principal Feige is absolutely livid, his face bright red, and Trini is having a hard time trying not to laugh as Kimberly avoids her gaze, her lips pursed tight as she attempts not to laugh as well.

“He’s a cheating piece of shit, he deserved it.” Kimberly says stiffly, and Principal Feige growls under his breath.

“You are in school during school hours, Miss Hart! When you lay your hands on a student, you suffer the consequences!” He hisses.

“Fine! I don’t care.” 

Principal Feige huffs, turns his attention to Trini.

“And what part did you have to play in this, Miss Prince?” Trini raises her hands.

“I didn’t do anything. They kept trying to talk to Kimberly, and she didn’t want to talk to them-.”

“And then Ty called her something rude, so I punched him.” Kimberly finishes lamely. 

Principal Feige sighs. 

“Was Mr. Fleming responsible for the derogatory term written on your locker earlier this month, Miss Prince?” 

“No.” Trini and Kimberly say at the same time, and Principal Feige raises an eyebrow as Kimberly looks at Trini, who gives her a comforting nod before she sighs.

“Amanda Clarke did it. I saw her do it. I tried to stop her but she wouldn’t listen to me. I should’ve come forward earlier, but I thought Amanda was my friend, I felt like I needed to protect her-.”

“Say no more, Miss Hart. I understand. That still doesn’t erase the fact that you punched another student in the face.” Kimberly purses her lips and nods.

“Look, whatever punishment I get, whatever, I’ll accept it. Just don’t punish Trini. She’s the victim in all of this, she never did anything wrong.” 

Principal Feige looks between them both for a long time before he sighs and nods.

“Fine. Miss Prince, you’re free to go. Miss Hart, your parents on their way. You’ll remain here until they arrive.” 

Kimberly nods, and Trini throws her a sympathetic smile before she exits the Principal’s office. 

She doesn’t know what to do now. 

She might as well go to class, but she’s worried about Kimberly.

It isn’t fair.

After everything Amanda and Ty did, for them not to get any punishment-

“You’re going down, you bitch.” Trini feels her blood immediately boil at the sound of Amanda’s voice, and she clenches her fist and turns to see Amanda glaring at her, her teeth bared as she almost shakes with anger.

“You’ve ruined everything! My friendship with Kimberly-.”

“That was your own damn fault, you decided to fuck her boyfriend.” Trini hisses. 

Amanda swings.

Trini grabs her arm before her fist connects with her face, and the receptionist is rushing over to them before Trini can do anything.

“Hey! That’s enough! Miss Clarke, Principal Feige wants to see you immediately!”

“It might not be a good idea to have her and Kimberly in the same room.” Trini warns, not taking her eyes of Amanda, whose glare only darkens as her nostrils flare and her eyes flicker past Trini to Principal Feige’s office behind her. 

The receptionist sighs.

“Wait over there, Miss Clarke. Miss Prince, I believe Principal Feige excused you, you can go back to class now.”

“WHAT!? THIS IS ALL HER FAULT!” Amanda screams, and Trini raises an eyebrow.

“Again, I didn’t fuck Kimberly’s boyfriend, you did. Not that I’d want to touch that thing with a ten foot pole-.”

“Of course you wouldn’t, you fucking dyke-.” 

Trini’s punching her before she can even think about the consequences.

Her fist collides with Amanda’s face, and there’s a sickening crunch as pain explodes throughout her fist, and Amanda collapses to the ground, howling as she clutches her nose. 

“FUCK!” Trini glares down at her with a grin as the receptionist screams for Principal Feige, Amanda still screaming as blood begins to drip to the ground from her hands. 

“YOU FUCKING PSYCHO!” 

“WHAT IS GOING ON!?” Principal Feige throws the door open just as Trini starts making her way to Amanda, intending to knock her face into the ground as Principal Feige grabs her-

“TRINI!” 

Softer hands grab her elbows and pull her back, and she sinks against someone’s front, hears Kimberly’s voice in her ear.

“Trin, stop-.”

“THAT’S IT! MISS PRINCE, MISS HART, IN MY OFFICE, AND STAY THERE!” Principal Feige roars, and Trini sighs, feels Kimberly interlace their fingers as she drags Trini into the Principal’s office and closes the door. 

“Trini, are you okay?” Kimberly looks at her with a sigh, and Trini simply nods, flexes the knuckles in her fist with a wince. 

“I’m good.” Kimberly looks down at her hand.

“Here.” Kimberly takes her hand, brushes her fingertips over the knuckles with a sympathetic whistle.

“Must’ve been a hard punch, your knuckles are already bruised.” 

“I think I broke her nose.” Trini says with a shrug. Kimberly chuckles. 

“She deserves it, but still…you shouldn’t have done that.”

“She called me a dyke. Guess it pissed me off.” Kimberly clenches her jaw. 

“For fuck’s sake…”

“It’s fine.”

“We might get expelled for this.” Kimberly murmurs. Trini shrugs.

“Ah well.” 

“There’s no other schools in this town, Trini.” Kimberly says with a chuckle. Trini shrugs again.

“My mom will take me to some other town.” 

“What about me?” Kimberly teases.

“You’ll come with me.” Trini says, like it’s the simplest thing in the world. Kimberly’s eyes soften.

“You’re sweet.” She whispers. Trini smiles, and Kimberly bites her lip in hesitation before she leans forward and kisses her softly, Trini reaching up and cupping her jaw to deepen the kiss before they both pull away at the same time, as if suddenly becoming aware of where they are. 

“Mmm, I thought we were just friends, Kimberly…” 

“Just friends can kiss…” Kimberly mumbles, and Trini laughs.

“I don’t think so…” 

Kimberly grumbles, and Trini grins and shakes her head before gripping her hand with her uninjured one.

“Come on, we’re about to get our asses handed to us by our parents, I don’t think we should take these next few moments of peace for granted.”

-

Diana is mad.

Beyond mad.

Actually, Trini’s pretty sure Diana’s never been this mad before. 

When Trini informs Principal Feige that Diana is out of town, he opts to call her instead, and Trini can practically hear her screaming from her position opposite Principal Feige as he winces and holds the phone at a distance. She hears Diana say she’ll be back in town tonight and she’ll meet with Principal Feige tomorrow, and then Principal Feige has no choice but to send her home.

Kimberly’s parents are mad, too, and they take Kimberly straight to the car after their meeting with the Principal, both of them looking livid as Kimberly shoots Trini a sad smile before she’s unceremoniously shoved into the car by her mother. 

Trini makes her way home with a sigh, and gets a message from Diana telling her not to move from the couch in the living room and that she better find Trini sitting there waiting for her when she arrives home tonight. 

Trini shrugs, grabs leftover beef stroganoff and heats it up before grabbing an icepack for her hand. The second the ice hits her knuckles, she hisses in pain, but it soothes the pain a little as she grabs the beef stroganoff from the microwave and lounges on the couch before turning on the TV. 

She’s halfway through some action movie when her phone begins buzzing, and she looks down to see Kimberly calling her.

“Hello?” She answers.

“Hey.” Kimberly says, her voice hushed. Trini raises an eyebrow.

“Everything okay?”

“Sorry, I have to talk in a low voice, my parents don’t know I have my phone on me.” Trini chuckles.

“You stole it back?” 

“No, they took my phone, but they kind of forgot I have an old one that works perfectly in my drawer. I’m using that one.” Kimberly says. Trini rolls her eyes.

“Smart thinking. Got a third phone for me when my mom decides to take mine, too?” 

Kimberly laughs.

“I can have a look-.”

“Nah, it’s all good. How bad was it?” 

“There was a lot of yelling…I blocked a majority of it out…” 

“Did you explain why you did it?”

“Didn’t get a chance to. They were yelling too much.” 

“Jeez…”

“It’s fine. How about you?” 

“Well, mom’s not home yet, but I imagine when she gets here, it won’t be pretty.” 

“Shit…” 

“Yeah…”

“Well, I-shit, wait.” Kimberly goes silent, and Trini can only assume her parents must be nearby, because a full minute passes before she talks again.

“Hey, sorry.” 

“It’s okay. Do you wanna just text instead? So you don’t get caught?”

“Yeah, that might be best.” 

“Alright.”

“I’m rooting for you.” Trini laughs.

“Thanks. I’ll message you.” 

“I’ll be waiting.” 

Trini smiles, ends the call, and barely a minute passes before Kimberly messages her.

 **Kimberly Hart**  
 _You took too long._

Trini laughs.

**Trini Prince**   
_It hasn’t even been a minute._

**Kimberly Hart**   
_Still too long._

She follows it up with an emoji with its tongue poking out. 

Trini smiles. 

**Trini Prince**   
_What was the punishment decided for you?_

**Kimberly Hart**   
_Detention every Saturday until we graduate_

Trini whistles sympathetically.

**Trini Prince**   
_Fuck, that’s brutal._

**Kimberly Hart**   
_Yeah, but it’s fine. Just glad I didn’t get expelled. What about you?_

**Trini Prince**   
_No decision yet, gotta wait for mom to meet with him tomorrow_

**Kimberly Hart**   
_hope it isn’t anything too bad…_

**Trini Prince**   
_Yeah, me too._

Trini hears the sound of a car parking and curses under her breath before typing out a quick message.

**Trini Prince**   
_gotta go, mom’s here. I’m hiding my phone in case she decides to take it off me._

**Kimberly Hart**   
_smart thinking. Good luck. Xx_

Trini smiles at the X’s before shoving her phone under the pillow and sitting upright on the couch just as the door opens.

She hears Diana’s heels clacking on the ground after the sound of the front door closing, and she inhales deeply and holds her breath as Diana comes to a stop in front of her and glares at her.

“Well?” She demands.

“Well…” Trini trails off, grinning sheepishly, and Diana crosses her arms over her chest.

“Explain!” Diana hisses, and Trini sighs.

“I punched the girl who wrote ‘dyke’ on my locker in the face.” 

Trini’s known her mother for seventeen years now.

She’s pretty sure she’s never seen her this shocked before.

“What? You…you found the girl who did it?” 

“I’ve known the entire time, I just…I didn’t say anything because I didn’t wanna make it worse. But she called me a ‘dyke’ today again and I just lost it. I punched her. And I’m sorry. But I’m also not sorry. Because she’s a bad person, and she deserved it.” 

Diana watches her for a long moment before she sighs.

“Trini, I understand your anger, but I’ve taught you time and time again, violence is never the answer-.”

“Mom, don’t start with that shit, okay? You’ve never had to be violent, you’re a six foot tall, beautiful woman-.”

“Who is Jewish and has faced a lot of prejudice in my life. Never once have I decided to raise my hands in response. I use my mind, my intellect, my courage instead, to speak the words my fists can never say.” Diana smiles sadly before sitting down beside Trini and brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

“I understand, Trini. I do. Sometimes it’s hard to shut off the voice inside your head that tells you to fight. But hurting someone is only going to make them angrier. Do you think she’s going to stop calling you that word now because you hit her? She’ll only start saying it more, because she knows it gets under your skin. She knows it affects you. You can’t let her affect you, Trini. Promise me you won’t raise your fists again. Not unless you have to defend yourself.” 

“I did have to defend myself-.”

“Against a physical attack. Not an attack of words. Words have power, yes, but only if you choose to let them.” 

Trini sinks into the couch, grumbling slightly.

She hates her mother and her wisdom sometimes.

Diana chuckles, runs her fingers through Trini’s hair before looking down at her injured hand.

“Let me see.” She takes the icepack of her hand and runs her fingers over the reddened skin with a sigh.

“Does it hurt to move it?”

“A little.” Trini mumbles. Diana purses her lips.

“You’d be in a lot more pain if anything was broken. Just keep the ice on it.” Trini shrugs, and Diana watches her for a moment before chuckling.

“You broke her nose?”

“I did.” Diana groans, and Trini bites down on her lip.

“I’m sorry-.” 

“It’s fine. You’re lucky we can afford whatever her parents throw at us. The Principal was saying something about another student getting hurt-.”

“That wasn’t me. It was Kimberly.” Diana’s eyebrows shoot up.

“Isn’t Kimberly the girl you kissed at the party?” Trini smiles sheepishly.

“Yeah…” Diana blinks.

“Hmm…”

“She caught her boyfriend cheating on her at a party over the weekend with Amanda-.”

“Amanda?”

“The girl I punched. We were walking down the hallway at school together-.”

“No, me and Kimberly, mom-.”

“Wait, start from the beginning. I’m confused, little one. So…” Trini sighs and rolls her eyes.

“Amanda dared Kimberly to kiss me at the party and she did. Kimberly’s been feeling guilty about it ever since, and Amanda thought that the reason I was so upset about the whole thing is because I’m a lesbian, so she spray painted ‘dyke’ on my locker. Kimberly tried to stop her, but she did it anyway. So now Kimberly and Amanda have been a little on edge ever since, and Kimberly started dating Ty, and there was a party on the weekend that I one hundred percent did not go to-.” Diana raises an eyebrow, but Trini just keeps talking hastily.

“And Kimberly caught Ty having sex with Amanda, so she came to me at school, uh, crying, and upset, and then Ty and Amanda tried to talk to her and Ty called me a ‘dyke’ because apparently it’s the only word these assholes can think of, and Kimberly punched him. And then we were in the Principal’s office and Principal Feige let me go back to class, but Amanda was in the office and she started provoking me and so I punched her. That’s about it.” 

Diana lets out a deep breath.

“That’s a lot to unpack.”

“I know, look…the point is, I really am sorry for getting in trouble at school, and I know violence is never the answer, but she just…god, Amanda annoys the shit out of me, she thinks she can get away with being so cruel and mean to everyone because she’s a cheerleader and part of the ‘clique’ or whatever, I just…I wanted to prove to her that sometimes saying stupid shit can get your nose broken.” Trini ends lamely, and Diana bites down on her lip to stop herself from laughing as she shakes her head.

“Apology accepted. We still need to meet with the Principal tomorrow to determine your punishment.”

“Well, Kimberly got detention every Saturday until we graduate, I daresay Principal Feige has the same punishment in mind for me.”

“Hmm…that seems reasonable enough.”

“Wait, nooo…”

“You made your bed, little one. Now sleep in it.” 

-

**Kimberly Hart**   
_How’d it go?_

Trini sighs down at the message before quickly typing out a reply.

**Trini Prince**   
_Got a massive lecture about moral rights. That’s about it._

The dots appear and disappear a number of times before a reply comes through.

**Kimberly Hart**   
_Oh what the hell? Wish that’s all I’d gotten…I’m glad you escaped mostly unscathed though. You don’t deserve to get yelled at…I still can’t believe she had the nerve to call you that after everything she’s done…_

Trini sighs.

**Trini Prince**   
_She’s a bitch. Plain and simple. Doesn’t care about anyone other than herself._

**Kimberly Hart**   
_I can’t believe I used to even be friends with her. I’m so mad at myself for not seeing through her…I’m sorry, Trini._

Trini blinks in confusion.

**Trini Prince**   
_For what? Not your fault she’s a dick._

**Kimberly Hart**   
_I know, but the only reason she’s targeting you is because of me…I really never should’ve kissed you at that party…_

**Trini Prince**   
_Then we never would’ve gotten where we are now…_

It takes Kimberly a while to reply but when she does, it knocks the breath out of Trini.

**Kimberly Hart**   
_And where exactly is that?_

She follows it up with an emoji with its tongue sticking out and one of its eyes closed in a wink, and Trini bites down on her lip to stop herself from grinning.

**Trini Prince**   
_I don’t know…friends? Or…_

**Kimberly Hart**   
_Friends with benefits sounds like we’re trying to keep it a secret._

**Trini Prince**   
_What’s so bad about that?_

**Kimberly Hart**   
_Maybe I don’t want to keep you a secret._

Trini sucks in a deep breath. 

**Trini Prince**   
_Oh._

**Kimberly Hart**   
_Oh? What, you don’t want me parading you around?_

Trini hesitates.

**Trini Prince**   
_Might not be the best thing to do after everything…_

**Kimberly Hart**   
_Mmm…it’s okay, I can think of other ways to make it known you’re not available…_

Trini wants so badly to reply with a snarky ‘like what’, but she knows she’s pushing it right now. This is dangerous territory. This is no going back territory.

She doesn’t like that territory. 

She has no idea how to respond, but luckily, Kimberly messages her before she can.

**Kimberly Hart**   
_Gotta go. Time for bed. See you tomorrow. Xx_

Trini blinks before she sees Kimberly go offline, and she groans and shoves her phone under her pillow before grabbing the one beside her and smashing her face into it.

Why were girls so fucking complicated? 

-

“Well, I think detentions every Saturday is a suitable punishment, don’t you, Miss Prince?” 

Principal Feige is watching Diana as she purses her lips and looks at Trini before nodding once.

“Yes, I think it is. But I want there to be punishment for this Amanda girl, now that it’s been confirmed she’s the culprit behind the defamation of my daughter’s locker. I won’t tolerate my daughter being bullied about her sexuality, regardless of what it is.” 

“I can assure you, Miss Prince, she’ll be getting the correct punishment as well. I informed her parents of what Miss Hart’s statement regarding the situation, and they agreed with me that what Miss Clarke did was inexcusable. When she returns from her, uh…surgery, she’ll be receiving the same punishment. Her detentions, however, will be on a different day than Miss Hart’s and Miss Prince’s, considering their ill history…” 

“Good. Well, I think we’re all done here then. I commend you for your swift action, Mr. Feige. You make a fine Principal.” Diana stands, extends her hand to Principal Feige, which he takes with a look of shock as his stammers nervously.

“Uh, thank you, M-Miss Prince. I appreciate the compliment. I’m sorry it had to come to this, had your daughter not hurt Miss Clarke-.”

“I understand. So does she. We spoke about it in length last night and we both agreed that this was the correct punishment for her. She’ll be nothing short of a role model student from here on out. If she isn’t…she knows the consequences.” Diana gives Trini a stern look, and she shrugs and gives her a simple thumbs up. Diana rolls her eyes, but wraps an arm around her shoulders before leading her out of the Principal’s office. 

“Well…I’m not longer needed here. Are you sure you’ll be alright for the rest of the day, little one?” Diana asks, touching her cheek, and Trini nods.

“Yeah. I’ll be alright.” 

“Okay. If you see Zack, ask him if he’s staying at ours tonight and text me his answer. I’m washing the sheets.” Trini chuckles and nods.

“Got it.”

“Okay. I love you-.” 

“Trini?” 

Diana and Trini both turn at the sound of her name, and Trini smiles when she sees Kimberly standing at the door to the office, a small smile on her face that falters slightly when she looks from Trini to Diana.

“Hey, I…”

“Who’s your friend?” Diana asks, prodding her in the back, and Trini glares at her cocky smirk before clearing her throat and pointing at Kimberly.

“This is Kimberly Hart, mom. Kim, this is my mom, Diana…” Trini mumbles, and Kimberly looks Diana up and down, almost like she’s in awe before she shakes her head as if to clear her mind and holds out her hand.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Prince.” 

“Nice to meet you. Trini’s spoken highly of you.” Diana says, taking her hand with her smirk only growing wider, and Trini groans under her breath as Kimberly chuckles.

“I’m glad. She’s a good friend. I’m sorry about yesterday’s events-.”

“No, don’t be silly! I’m glad you stood up for her. Show’s me you’re a good friend, too. However, I would appreciate it if the both of you resorted to more non-violent means of confrontation in the future.” Diana says sternly, looking between them both, and Trini rolls her eyes.

“We’ve had this conversation already…”

“She’s right though. We will. I promise. I’ll, uh…I’ll keep an eye on Trini for you.” Kimberly says, a slight smile playing on her lips, and Trini glares at her.

“She’s already got Zack keeping an eye on me.”

“Yes well, Zack has his own issues, and two pairs of eyes is always better than one. Thank you, Kimberly.” Diana says with a smile before looking down at her watch.

“I have to go. Behave, please.” Diana leans in and presses a kiss to Trini’s forehead, who waves her off nonchalantly before she gives Kimberly’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.

“Bye sweetheart. Stay safe.”

“I will, thanks Miss Prince.” She moves behind Kimberly, and Diana looks up at Trini and winks at her before giving her a thumbs up and an impressed look before walking to the door. 

Trini groans and hides her face in her hands, and Kimberly chuckles and grabs her wrists in an attempt to pull them away.

“Why are you hiding?”

“Because that was embarrassing.” Trini groans. Kimberly laughs.

“Your mom is great, don’t be embarrassed. She’s also hot as shit, but-.”

“Hey!”

“You didn’t let me finish! I was gonna say she’s hot as shit, but not as hot as you.” 

Trini blinks.

“That is the cheesiest shit I’ve ever heard.” Kimberly wrinkles her nose with a grin.

“Shut up, you love it. Come on, lunch break.” She grabs Trini’s hand, leads her out into the hallway, and the second they’re in the view of other students, they drop hands as if they’ve been electrocuted, Trini scratching the back of her neck as Kimberly waves her forward.

“Come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“Shh, just come on.” Trini sighs, nods once before following her. She passes Billy, gives him a warm smile as he raises a hand in hello, passes Jason, who is with the other members of the football team, but still manages to give them both a smile and a salute, passes Zack, who waggles his eyebrows at her, which causes her to give him the finger as he cackles loudly, and Kimberly takes them outside toward the bleachers.

Which are empty.

“Kim, I’m-.” 

She doesn’t even finish her sentence before Kimberly’s grabbing her and leading them under the bleachers. She looks around quickly before grinning widely and leaning in to Trini close.

“Sorry, I just wanted us to be alone for a second.”

“Why?”

“So I could do this.” Kimberly leans in, kissing her gently, and Trini can’t help but smile against her lips, cups her jaw and deepens the kiss as Kimberly’s fingers dig into her shirt with a soft moan. 

She pulls away a few moments later, a little breathless as she rests her forehead against Trini’s before pulling away and looking at her with a lazy smile.

“You’re kind of an amazing kisser, you know that?” Trini grins.

“I’ve been told.” Kimberly’s eyebrows shoot up.

“Oh really?” Trini chuckles. 

“That’s a story for another time.”

“Mmm, can’t wait to hear it.” Trini leans in, presses a kiss to the corner of her mouth before Kimberly pulls away and looks down at their interlaced hands. 

“Trin…I know that what we’re doing is weird, and strange, but…I do really like you. I need you to know that, I don’t want you to think this is some weird phase or something, I…I’m genuinely attracted to you. And of course it took me being drunk to actually act on my feelings, but…I have to admit, that I’ve been attracted to you for months now. And I just want you to know that I’m not gonna screw around with this, that I do really want us to be something…but only when you’re ready. Because I know if we start dating, this fucking toxic school won’t stop with the rumors, they won’t stop saying that you’re gay, or that you turned me gay, they’ll spin whatever shit they can, and Amanda’s gonna be right at the center of it, I can guarantee you that. I just…when you’re ready, I want us to be something. Until then…can we just have this?” 

Trini soaks in her words, takes in the seriousness of her tone, realizes she genuinely means what she’s saying…

“Yeah…yeah, we can have this…for now. I will, one day, Kim, I promise. I just…not with everything happening, it just would be too much-.”

“Shh, it’s okay, I get it. I don’t want to add to your pain any more than I already have. I’m sorry.” Kimberly’s bottom lip is trembling, and Trini brushes it with her thumb, tears welling in her eyes as she smiles.

“It wasn’t your fault. Shh…” Trini presses a kiss to her forehead before pulling her in for a hug, and Kimberly buries her head in Trini’s shoulder, her nails digging into the small of her back before she presses a kiss to Trini’s neck and pulls away. 

“We should go before we get caught…” 

“Yeah, probably.” Trini chuckles. Kimberly smiles sadly, and Trini gives her hand a squeeze.

“Have lunch with me and Zack. I promise we don’t bite.” Kimberly wipes her tears away with a laugh.

“Well I haven’t really got anyone else, so…done deal, Miss Prince.” Trini rolls her eyes, grabs her phone from her pocket and sends a quick message to Zack telling him to meet her at the cafeteria.

As soon as they arrive, pretty much everyone stares straight at them, whispers starting up once again, and Trini knows it’s because they both punched two of the most popular kids in school right in the face and broke something, but she can’t help but be a bit nervous as Kimberly lets out a deep breath and enters the line.

As soon as they grab food, Zack is waving them over to where he’s sitting.

And surprisingly, Billy and Jason are sitting with him.

“This is new.” Trini says, looking at Jason and Billy with a grin, and Jason chuckles as Billy looks up at them with a wide smile.

“Hey Trini! Hey Kimberly! I’m just helping Zack and Jason with their work.” 

“More like saving my damn life. Seriously bro, I love you.” Zack says, and Billy shrugs.

“It’s alright, this stuff is easy to me.”

“Wish I could say the same.” Jason says with a frown, looking down at his book, and Trini sits down, Kimberly sitting down beside her, looking at the four of them all around the table with an amused smile.

“Don’t we make an odd team?” She says with a laugh, and Zack grins.

“Odd teams are always the best teams.”


	8. I feel so untouched right now, need you so much, somehow I can’t forget you (been going crazy from the moment I met you)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from "Untouched" By The Veronicas.
> 
> sorry for the wait. hope you enjoy this chapter, everyone. please leave comments, or shoot me a message at movinggforthesakeofmotion.tumblr.com

“You’re smiling a lot…” 

Diana watches her daughter with a wide smile, and Trini simply shrugs, tries to stop her lips from curling as she digs into her food.

“It’s nice out.” 

“Mhmm…sure.” Trini rolls her eyes as Diana raises an eyebrow before nodding.

“You have anything planned this weekend?” She asks. Trini shrugs again.

“Not really. Why?” 

“I figured we could spend some time together after I spent last weekend away.” 

“You never told me how that deal went by the way.” 

“We secured it. Wayne Enterprises is now making new tech in Germany.”

“Cool.”

It’s silent for a few moments before Diana sighs. 

“You have detention tomorrow.” Trini blinks.

“Shit…I forgot.” 

“Mmm…maybe this will teach you not to punch people.”

“Mom, come on-.”

“I know it was for a good reason, but that doesn’t excuse your behavior. I taught you better.” Diana says sternly. Trini nods.

“I know. And I am sorry I disappointed you. She was just…god, so insistent on pissing me off-.”

“People will do that your whole life, Trini. It’s about taking a deep breath and walking away.” 

“No offence, mom, but you’ve never had anyone tease you for something you couldn’t control.” Trini says through gritted teeth. Diana scoffs.

“I came to this country when I was ten years old, not knowing the language and with barely any knowledge on American culture. I know exactly what you’re going through, Trini. And I raised my fists once, too. It resulted in me getting beaten up in an alleyway while your grandparents stayed worried at home, wondering where I was for five hours straight.” 

Trini is so in shock, her mouth drops open, her fork dropping onto her plate with a loud clang.

“What?” She breathes. Diana sighs.

“Some students at school called me names, and I was good at ignoring them, until they followed me on the way home to school and told me I should’ve been killed in the Holocaust along with my parents. I couldn’t speak English well, but I knew what they meant. I lost control. I attacked a student, and the rest of her friends attacked me. They left me in an alleyway, bruised and battered with rain falling, and all I could do was beg that someone would find me.”

“Holy shit, mom…” Trini reaches out, grips Diana’s hand, and she squeezes it back before smiling sadly.

“Your grandfather found me, took me straight to the Hospital. Three broken ribs and cuts and bruises. Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you, Trini?” 

Trini nods.

“Yeah…sometimes backing away is the better option.” Diana purses her lips.

“That…and I don’t want to find you in an alleyway beaten to death by a bunch of kids who you could’ve easily ignored. Alright?” Diana tucks a finger under Trini’s chin, and she swallows the lump in her throat and nods.

“Alright.” Diana smiles, tears in her eyes before she stands and presses a kiss to her forehead. 

“There’s a bright side to detention tomorrow.” She says, taking her plate off the table before reaching over and taking Trini’s.

“Oh yeah?”

“Mmm, you get to see Kimberly.” Diana waggles her eyebrows, and Trini groans.

“Stop.”

“What? She’s cute.”

“She’s also not…she’s…we’re not dating.” Trini manages to get out, and Diana chuckles.

“Okay…what are you then?” She asks, moving over to the sink. Trini follows her with a sigh, running a hand through her hair.

“Honestly…I don’t know. Friends, I guess…”

“Just friends?” Diana asks as she begins washing the dishes. Trini smiles sheepishly.

“Yep.”

“You’re a horrible liar.”

“This is so not something I wanna discuss with you.” Trini groans, and Diana chuckles.

“Why not?! I’m your mother!”

“Exactly! Look, it’s complicated. Kimberly and I are…complicated.” 

“Sounds like it.” 

“She’s just…you know, with the school currently full of drama and…you know, as soon as Amanda comes back she’s gonna be looking for payback against us, so we’re just…we’re being discreet and we’re being cautious.” 

“Why would you need to be discreet if you’re just friends?” 

Trini turns bright red, and Diana grins widely.

“Mmm…that’s what I thought.” 

Trini’s about to reply when her phone rings with a text message, and she grabs it from her pocket and looks down.

**Zack Taylor**   
_Not coming to yours tonight. Mom’s not good._

“Shit.”

“What?” Diana looks up with wide eyes, and Trini looks up at her sadly.

“Zack. He’s not coming over tonight. His mom isn’t good.” Diana sighs.

“She’s been having a lot more bad days than good.” 

“I know…”

“I’ll make some calls, get some people to come and see her, see if there’s something more we can do.” 

“They won’t like it. They’re already upset that you’re paying for her medical bills.” Diana waves her hand nonchalantly.

“They’re like family. We do what we can to help family. Always.” Trini nods.

“I know.” 

“Hopefully they can help. We’ll do everything we can.” Trini sighs, and Diana finishes washes the dishes before walking over and enveloping her in a hug.

“I tried so hard to protect you from anything this world could throw at you…clearly I didn’t think of everything.”

“You can’t protect me forever, mom…” Trini mumbles, but she buries her head into her mother’s shoulder regardless as Diana presses a kiss to her hair.

“Watch me.” She whispers. Trini rolls her eyes and escapes the hug.

“Mmm, not happening…unless you’re an immortal goddess from a magical land.” Trini teases. Diana rests her hands on her hips.

“I could be!”

“Sure.”

-

“You’ll write down every word in the dictionary, and their definitions, until you reach the last word in ‘Z’. Congratulations, you’ll all be doing this every Saturday until you graduate. Wherever you finish today, you’ll pick up next week. When you finish completely, you’ll start over. Get started.” 

Trini sighs, opens her book and the dictionary in front of her as groans and grumbles echo around her, and she looks up to see Mr. Delaney watching Netflix on his tablet, not even paying attention to the students in front of him as he kicks back and rests his feet up on the desk. 

Trini looks to the left of her, up a few seats at the back of Kimberly, her long black hair falling down her back in curls as she rests her head on her hand and taps her pencil on the table with a sigh.

Trini has no idea how she’s meant to get Kimberly’s attention when she’s in front of her. She could try throwing a letter, but Mr. Delaney will definitely notice a piece of paper flying across the room…

Their phones have been taken off them…

Trini purses her lips, is about to give up all hope when Kimberly suddenly turns to look at her.

She grins, holds up a note that Trini didn’t even notice she was writing before looking up at Mr. Delaney.

He’s completely engrossed in his screen, and Trini turns back to Kimberly just as she placed the note under her boot and slides it across to Trini’s. It hits the corner leg of her table, and Trini looks up at Mr. Delaney before bending down to grab it. 

Mr. Delaney doesn’t even notice as he chuckles at whatever he’s watching.

Trini grins, opens the note.

_Wanna head to Krispy Kreme after this? We definitely deserve donuts after this bullshit._

Trini bites down on her lip in hesitation before writing a reply.

_Yeah. But is that all we’re doing?_

She crumples the note up, copies Kimberly but sliding the note toward her desk with her foot, which Kimberly catches easily, both of them looking at Mr. Delaney cautiously.

She watches Kimberly read the reply before she starts writing a reply.

She slides it back.

_Why? What did you have in mind? Because I can think of a few things…_

Trini whines, which she covers by clearing her throat, and she can feel her body beginning to heat up as she rubs the back of her neck and takes a deep breath in.

Fuck it. Might as well tell her the truth.

 _I can’t stop thinking about touching you._

She watches Kimberly the second she catches the note.

Watches as her whole body goes tense, her hands gripping the desk as she looks up at Mr. Delaney before she writes out a reply.

Are her hands shaking?

She passes the note back, and Trini unfolds it.

_Fuck Krispy Kreme. I have the house to myself today. Mom and Dad are at a conference. Normally I’d have a party, but I think I’d rather have you all to myself. What do you say?_

Trini grins widely.

_Done._

-

“God, that was torture.” Trini groans, rubbing the back of her neck to try and work out the kinks as Kimberly sighs.

“Yeah, and now that’s our lives every Saturday.”

“Eh, worth it to see Amanda freaking out about her nose.” 

Kimberly chuckles as Trini pulls her phone out of her pocket.

“They could at least let us keep our phones-.”

Trini stops dead.

Seven missed calls from Zack.

Three from Diana.

“Shit.”

“What?” Kimberly grips her elbow, looks over her shoulder as Trini unlocks her phone and immediately calls Zack.

He picks up on the first ring.

“Trini! Where the hell have you been?!” 

“I was in detention, what’s wrong?” Trini demands. Her heart is pounding against her chest as she hears Zack sigh loudly.

“Get to the Hospital. Your mom is already here.” 

He hangs up before she can get more out of him. 

“Trin?” Trini licks her lips, her throat suddenly incredibly dry as she looks up at Kimberly.

“I need you to drive me to the Hospital. Please.” 

Kimberly’s eyes widen, but she immediately nods.

“Yeah, of course. Let’s go.” 

The drive to the Hospital is long, Trini continuously biting on the inside of her cheek as Kimberly reaches out and grips her hand tightly, the other on the steering wheel as Trini throws her a grateful smile.

As soon as Kimberly parks the car, she’s jumping out and heading straight to Zack’s mother’s room, Kimberly hot on her heels despite not even knowing what’s going on.

Diana is stepping out of the room by the time Trini gets there.

“Mom!” Diana looks up at the sound of her voice, and Trini can see she’s been crying as Diana sighs and walks over to her before enveloping her in a bone crushing hug.

“I’m so sorry, Trini.” 

Trini grips the back of her shirt desperately, shakes her head against her mother’s chest.

“No, no, no, no-.” 

“Shh, shh, she’s not gone. Not yet.” Diana whispers, and Trini lets out a whimper of relief as she pulls away and looks up at her mother breathlessly, tears falling down her face before she can stop them.

Diana wipes her tears away, her expression sad and morose. 

“There’s nothing more the doctors can do for her. The disease has gotten too strong for her to fight.” Trini swallows the lump in her throat.

“So…”

Diana sighs.

“She doesn’t have long left, Trini…Zack’s in there with her now.”

“Is he okay?” Trini asks, her voice cracking as she tries to keep the tears at bay. Diana shakes her head and purses her lips.

“No, Trini. He’s not okay. You need to be there for him, now more than ever, okay?” Trini nods.

“Okay…” Diana presses a kiss to her forehead before looking behind her at Kimberly.

“Oh…”

“Sorry, I…she needed a ride-.” Kimberly stumbles over her words and Diana shakes her head with a smile.

“It’s alright, sweetheart. I’ll fill you in. Trini…go. Zack needs you.” Trini nods numbly, looks back at Kimberly, who gives her a sympathetic smile before she takes a deep breath in and enters the room.

The second her eyes land on Zack’s mother, she’s crying.

Needles hooked into her, tubes and machines beeping, god…this is no way for someone to live…

Zack is by his mother’s bedside, his hand wrapped in hers as he looks up at her with nothing but despair and complete sadness in his eyes. 

Trini steps forward slowly, and the sound of her boots hitting the floor reach Zack’s ears.

He looks up, his eyes filled with tears as he swallows the lump in his throat and shakes his head.

“I’m gonna lose her, Trin.” He croaks, his whole body trembling as he grips his mother’s arm as if desperately attempting to bring her back to consciousness. 

Trini bites down on her lower lip, steps forward slowly until she’s right by Zack’s side.

“Zack…”

“Where were you?” He asks slowly. Trini sighs.

“I had detention for punching Amanda, remember?” Zack closes his eyes, the tears clinging to his lashes falling down his face as he nods.

“Shit…I forgot. Sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Trini bends down, wraps her arms around Zack from behind and presses her face against his back. 

He grips her hands, a soft whimper escaping him as he squeezes one of her wrists and turns in her arms to properly hug her, resting his chin on top of her head.

“Zack, I don’t know what to say-.”

“You don’t have to say anything, T. I’m just glad you’re here…And I’m sorry for being snappy-.”

“You’re not being snappy at all.” Trini leans up and presses a kiss to his forehead, and Zack smiles at the touch of her lips against his skin.

“You’re like a sister to me, Trin. I hope you know that.” 

“You know I feel the same way. Mom and I wouldn’t have helped if we didn’t love you like family, Zack.” He lets out a shaky breath and nods.

“I turn eighteen in a few months…Diana said if…if she’s…if she’s gone before then…she’ll take me in until I can get my feet off the ground.” Zack manages to get out. Trini nods.

“You already live with us, Zack. That doesn’t change as long as you don’t want it to.” Zack nods again. 

“I don’t know what to do, Trini…” Zack whispers. Trini hugs him tightly.

“Be there for her. It’s all you can do.” She whispers back. Zack sighs before he pulls back and purses his lips. 

“Thank you, Trini. For everything. But overall, for being a great friend.” 

“Of course…you know you’re like a brother to me.” Trini mumbles. Zack wipes away his tears with a chuckle before nodding at her.

“How was detention?”

“Boring. Still worth it though.” 

“Hell yeah it was. Heard you broke Amanda’s nose.”

“I sure did.”

Zack holds up a hand, and Trini high fives him with a grin. 

“Trini?” She turns at the sound of her name to see Kimberly at the doorway, and Zack raises an eyebrow before he blinks in shock as Kimberly walks straight to him and envelops him in a hug.

“I’m so sorry about your mom, Zack.” She whispers. Zack sighs and hugs her back with a tight smile.

“Thanks, Kim. What are you doing here?” 

“Someone had to bring Trini to the Hospital. We had detention together.” Kimberly says, giving Trini a small smile. Zack looks between them before he winks at Trini and clears his throat.

“Ah, well…there’s not much here that either of you can do. Go enjoy what little of the weekend you have left, yeah? Mom and I will be okay…”

“Zack, I can stay-.”

“Trini, come on. Mom would want you to go out and enjoy yourself. Besides, what’s sitting here staring at her going to do? Don’t stress, and tell your mom to head home, too. She’s already doing so much for us, I’m not robbing her of her weekend, either.” 

“Zack-.”

“Nope. No buts. Get out of here. Go on!” Zack lays a palm on both Trini and Kimberly’s backs, pushing them toward the door as Trini sighs.

“Alright, alright, jeez…”

“I’ll call you if anything comes up.” Trini grabs the door ledge, turns and wraps her arms around Zack one last time. 

“Please do.”

“I will. I promise.” Zack says with a sad smile. Trini smiles and leans up, pressing a kiss to his forehead before her and Kimberly make their way out of the room.

Diana just rounds the corner, a cup of coffee in her hands as she looks up at them with her head tilted in confusion.

“What happened?”

“Zack told us to go out and enjoy the weekend. Said there’s nothing more that we can do here…” Trini frowns, and Diana sighs and nods once.

“He has a point…we might as well head home…Kimberly, you’re welcome to join us.” 

Kimberly hesitates, and Trini smiles and holds out her hand.

“We can watch a few movies if you want.” Kimberly bites her lip before she grins and nods.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Just follow my car, sweetheart.” Diana says, and Trini’s about to say that Kimberly already knows where she lives when she remembers that Diana still doesn’t know about the night Kimberly slept over.

Shit.

“Uh, right…” Kimberly seems to come to that realization at the same time, and the both of them are blushing deeply as they follow Diana out of the Hospital and into the parking lot. 

Diana, however, stops suddenly and reaches into her bag as her phone rings loudly.

“Dammit…hello?” She answers. Trini frowns as Diana blinks a few times before she purses her lips and suddenly crosses an arm over her chest in anger.

“You were supposed to close the deal yourself, Bruce! God-alright, give me ten minutes, I can get home, and we can do a conference call. Give me a minute…” Diana holds her phone to her shoulder as she turns to look at Trini apologetically.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, Bruce needs me to help him close a deal-.”

“It’s okay, me and Trini can go watch a movie or something, we’ll come over after.” Kimberly says with a smile, and Diana looks at Trini.

“Is that okay?”

“Of course. Go help Bruce, I’ll see you when we get home.” Diana smiles and leans in, pressing a kiss to Trini’s hair and touching her cheek before putting the phone back to her ear.

“Unbelievable you are, I swear to god, Bruce Wayne-.”

Kimberly chuckles as Diana’s heels clack on the ground, her voice eventually fading as she suddenly reaches out and grips Trini’s hand in her own.

“What do you say? Movie date?” 

“A date, huh?” Kimberly shrugs.

“No one needs to know it’s one.” She teases. Trini chuckles before giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

“It’s a date then.” 

-

_Don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t panic._

Kimberly’s hand move in her peripheral vision, fingers reaching out and skating along her forearm, and Trini feels a shiver explode up her spine at the contact, Kimberly finally connecting their fingers and interlacing them.

This movie feels like it’s been going on for three hours.

Trini’s been trying to stop herself from reaching out to touch Kimberly the entire goddamn time, and now Kimberly is reaching over and touching her forearm like it’s nothing, gripping her hand like it’s the simplest thing in the world…

“You okay?” Kimberly whispers in her ear. Trini swallows the lump in her throat.

“Yeah.” She manages to croak out. Kimberly pulls away, but Trini swears her lips brush against her cheek, and she bites down on her lip to stop herself from whining. 

“You know, I still have that empty house all to myself-.”

“This movie’s boring, let’s go.” Trini stands immediately and pulls Kimberly along with her, Kimberly laughing as people shush them, their feet pounding against the steps they climb down them, and they’re exiting the cinema as soon as possible, Trini simply wanting to get back to Kimberly’s house-

“Wait.” Kimberly tugs her in the other direction, and Trini stumbles as she pulls them into the girls bathroom before shoving Trini into a cubicle and locking the door behind them.

“Couldn’t wait.” Kimberly breathes, and then she’s kissing her, hands gripping Trini’s waist and pulling her in as Trini groans and wraps a hand around the back of Kimberly’s neck to pull her closer, deepening the kiss desperately. 

“We-should’ve-done this-from the-beginning-.” Trini manages to get out between kisses, and Kimberly shrugs.

“I wanted to see how long you’d last.” She pants out, her lips moving down to Trini’s jaw before attacking her neck, biting down on the skin as Trini cries out and digs her nails into the cubicle door. 

“You’re the one who shoved me in here.” Trini breathes, and Kimberly laughs against her skin.

“You’re the one who dragged me out of that movie, I was enjoying it.” She teases, and Trini rolls her eyes.

“It’s some pointless action flick about kids with superpowers, come on!” Kimberly laughs, presses a gentle kiss to her lips before she suddenly pulls away and bites down on her lip in hesitation.

“What? What is it?” Trini asks softly, concern suddenly gripping her at Kimberly sighs and shakes her head.

“It’s nothing, I just…I have to tell you something.” 

Trini feels her heart drop down to her toes.

_Oh god, she’s gonna say she regrets this whole thing, she doesn’t even like you, you’re an idiot-_

“Trini? Where’d you go?” Kimberly snaps her fingers in front of Trini’s face, and she shakes her head.

“S-Sorry, I-.”

“Hey, no, it’s nothing bad, what I have to tell you, it’s just…I…I don’t know what’s gonna happen between us when we get back to my place, and I figured you should know some things…” 

Kimberly stops again, and Trini waits patiently, curls her fingers into Kimberly’s shirt and pulls her in, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“Hey…whatever it is, you can tell me.” Trini tells her with a soft smile, and Kimberly lets out a deep breath and nods.

“I’ve…I’ve never had sex before. With anyone.” Kimberly says, her shoulders immediately falling as if the weight of the world has fallen off them, and Trini blinks in surprise.

“You mean…you and Ty-.”

“We got close, many times, but…it didn’t feel right. I kept stopping him. Maybe that’s why he cheated on me.” She laughs weakly, and Trini grits her teeth and shakes her head.

“No, he cheated because he’s a fucking asshole. Listen, Kim…don’t stress about that, okay? At all…we won’t go there until you want to.” Kimberly blinks.

“Have…have you-?”

“No, actually. I haven’t, either.” Trini chuckles a little nervously, and Kimberly smiles and leans in to kiss the corner of her mouth. 

“Then the same applies to you. When you’re ready.” Trini nods, and Kimberly lets out a deep breath.

“Wow, I wasn’t expecting that to be so easy.” Trini rolls her eyes.

“That’s because you dated a dick who couldn’t keep dick junior in his pants.”

“Oh, and you can?” Trini raises an eyebrow.

“Keep my metaphorical dick in my pants? Yeah, of course. I’d literally rather die than do anything you’re uncomfortable with, okay?” Kimberly purses her lips to stop herself from grinning as she nods.

“Okay.” Trini smiles and kisses her.

“Now come on, let’s go get something to eat-.”

“Oh, I’m not hungry.” Kimberly says, opening the cubicle and pulling Trini along with her. Trini frowns.

“You haven’t had anything to eat all day, Kimberly.” 

“I had breakfast.” She says with a shrug. Trini raises an eyebrow.

“It’s almost seven. Come on, we’ll get a pizza or something, take it home, I doubt my mom had time to cook.” Kimberly hesitates before she gives herself a quick look in the mirror to make sure nothing looks out of place before following Trini out.

They head out onto the street, to the parking lot of the cinemas-

“HEY!”

Trini and Kimberly stop short and turn-

Ty Fleming and one of his jock buddies is making their way toward them.

Trini’s heart stops.

Ty looks pissed.

“Kimmy! Where you running off to?” Ty asks, his voice light and almost friendly, but Trini can feel the undertone in it, finds herself pushing Kimberly behind her almost subconsciously as Kimberly growls under her breath.

“And just what the fuck do you want?” She hisses, and Ty comes to a stop in front of them, a wide grin on his face.

Trini can see the tooth Kimberly knocked out. It’s replacement is bright white, contrasting heavily with his slightly yellowing real teeth. 

“Just catching up, you know…old friends, and what not. Hey, dyke.” Trini clenches her fist as Kimberly suddenly launches forward, and Trini grips her elbow and pulls her back.

“Don’t bother. He’s not worth it.” Trini says calmly, her mother’s words replaying in her mind. 

_“It’s about taking a deep breath and walking away.”_

“What? You don’t like that word? ‘Dyke’? I think it fits you perfectly.” Ty’s jaw clenches, and Trini takes a deep breath in before running a finger down the back of Kimberly’s hand.

“Go to the car.” 

“Trini-.”

“Go. I’ll be right behind you.” 

“I’m not leaving you-.”

“Oh come on! Are you serious? What, are you two dating now?” Ty laughs, clapping his hands and slapping the chest of his friend, who grins wickedly and shakes his head.

“Nah, Hart’s way too uptight to like pussy. She cares about her reputation more than anything. Stuck up little bitch. Told you to ditch her, Ty.” 

“Mmm, yeah. I know…Should’ve listened, huh? But you see the thing is…I really loved you, Kimberly.” Ty looks at Kimberly behind Trini, and Trini sees tears in his eyes as he sniffs and shakes his head.

“I really loved you-.”

“You cheated on me at the drop of a fucking hat! You didn’t love shit!” Kimberly yells, and Trini steps back and pushes Kimberly along with her.

She doesn’t like where this is going. 

“OH FUCK YOU! You know exactly why I cheated! Fuck, if you had just been a good girlfriend and done what every other fucking couple does-.”

“So what? That’s why? Because I wouldn’t have sex with you? You’re fucking pathetic!”

Another step back.

They’re almost at the car…

“The only pathetic person here is you! You’re hanging out with this fucking faggot now?!”

_Block him out, Trini, block him out…_

“DON’T CALL HER THAT!” Kimberly surges forward.

Trini pushes her back.

“Get in the car, Kimberly!” 

“Don’t tell her what to do, bitch! We’re talking here!” Ty hisses, stepping forward, and Trini raises her hands.

“Look, we don’t want trouble-.”

“What? Do you think I’m gonna hit you or something?” Ty laughs loudly now, but Trini sees his friend grimace, sees him crack his knuckles, and fuck, fuck, fuck-

“Ty, just go! Fuck off-.”

“Kim, I just wanna talk-.”

“No! I don’t want to talk to you! Ever! We’re leaving! Trini…” Trini nods, turns and takes those few extra steps to the car-

“No, we’re not done!” Ty runs forward, grips Kimberly’s arm and yanks her away from the door-

Trini pretty much jumps over the hood and shoves Ty back angrily.

“Don’t fucking touch her-.”

Pain.

An impact with the side of her face, and she feels herself falling.

Her head hits the concrete.

Everything’s blurry-

Someone screaming-

More pain down her body-

Her ribs, her ribs are on fire, something’s hit them-

“DUDE…FUCK…DOING…”

“TRINI!”

Everything goes black.


	9. They say I got a touch, so good, so good, make you never wanna leave (so don’t, so don’t)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from "Good For You ft. A$AP Rocky" by Selena Gomez.
> 
> thanks for the patience! We've got about one chapter left for this fic! I hope you guys enjoy this one! please leave comments or sent me a message at movinggforthesakeofmotion.tumblr.com

“Miss Prince, your daughter is going to be alright. A concussion and a few broken ribs, but other than that, scrapes and bruises are the worst of her injuries. She’s incredibly lucky, from what Miss Hart told us, she was attacked by a jock from the High School’s football team-.”

She’s trying to process this man’s words, but nothing seems to comprehend.

Except for one thing.

“What did you say?” She whispers, her eyes finally focusing in on the doctor in front of her, who frowns before he repeats his words slowly.

“I said your daughter, Trini, she’s going to be okay. A concussion and a few broken ribs-.”

“No…after that.” 

“Um…she was attacked by-.”

“No, no…before that.” Diana stands now, and the doctor steps back slightly.

“Uh…she’s incredibly lucky-.” Diana laughs without humor and nods.

“She’s lucky…lucky to have been attacked by a maturing boy ten times her size, is that what you’re saying?”

“M-Miss Prince, I-.”

“Get. Out.” The words come out venomous, full of hatred and spat out in rage, and the doctor turns on his heel and bolts out of the room as Diana closes her eyes and takes a deep breath in through her nose.

She can’t turn around, can’t see her daughter like this…

She can’t bear to look at her anymore. 

All bandaged up, bruised and battered with needles sticking in her arms-

A knock at the door. 

She looks up, watches as the door opens slowly-

And Kimberly Hart walks through, her eyes bloodshot red and puffy as her eyes land on the mother of her girlfriend.

If that’s what they even are.

Diana can’t find herself to care right now.

Kimberly whimpers softly, and Diana finds the anger in her dissipating slightly.

Only slightly.

“Kimberly…”

“I’m s-so s-sorry-.”

“What did you tell the police?” Diana asks hoarsely. Kimberly swallows down her tears, wipes the ones tracking down her cheeks and nods.

“Everything.” She whispers.

“Then you’re going to tell me the same. Now.” 

Kimberly nods once, steps into the room and shuts the door behind her softly before turning to look Diana in the eyes.

“We…we went to a movie and we were heading b-back to the car to get f-food and c-come home and my ex-boyfriend Ty, h-he was there with one of the o-other guys on the t-team-.”

“His name…what’s his name…” Diana whispers, closing her eyes.

Ty…and someone else…

“E-Evan. His name is Evan. Evan Tucker. Ty wanted to talk to me and Trini…she kept telling me we should just go and I k-kept antagonizing him-it’s m-my f-fault-.”

Diana growls under her breath, grips Kimberly’s shoulders and shakes her lightly.

“I need you to tell me what happened, Kimberly.” She says firmly. Kimberly’s eyes widen, and she nods slowly. 

“We tried to g-go to the car and T-Ty grabbed me so T-Trini shoved him b-back and then Evan…Evan attacked h-her! He p-punched her in the face and she c-collapsed and then he k-kept kicking her and T-Ty pulled him off to g-get him to stop and they r-ran-.” 

“So Ty didn’t touch her?” Diana says in a low voice. Kimberly shakes her head.

“N-No, it was all Evan, T-Ty’s a f-fucking asshole, but h-he’d never hurt a girl, but E-Evan’s always been a f-fucking psycho-.” 

“Shh…good. Thank you.” Diana stands straight, and Kimberly grips her wrist.

“Wait, w-what are you gonna do?” Diana grips her phone in her hand and bares her teeth.

“I’m going to make a few calls…and I’m going to get Trini food. Do you want anything?” She asks, her voice softening toward the end. Kimberly shakes her head.

“I’m okay.”

“You said you were leaving to get food and come home, are you sure you aren’t hungry?” 

“I’m good. Thank you, Diana.” 

Diana sighs and touches Kimberly’s shoulder before walking out of the room and immediately scrolling through her contacts. 

Lucky for her, she answers on the first ring.

“Lance and Co. Lawyers, Laurel speaking.”

“You still don’t have my number saved? I’m disappointed, Laurel.” 

“Diana Prince? Is that you?”

“It is. I need you. How soon can you get to Angel Grove, California?” 

-

 

Pain.

God, her whole body feels like it’s on fire-

“Trini? Oh god, Trini…” 

She feels a hand squeeze her own, finds her eyes burning as she attempts to open them slowly, blinking heavily as the world blurs around her-

“Trini, can you hear me?” 

She’d know that voice from anywhere.

“Kim?” She whispers. She hears Kimberly whimper before she lets out a breathless laugh.

“Yeah…it’s me, hey…” Trini’s eyes focus on the slightly blurred shape in front of her, and with each blink of her eyes, Kimberly’s face comes into focus.

Her eyes are red, like she’s been crying for hours-

“What happened? Where am I?” Trini croaks out, her throat hurting terribly. Kimberly reaches beside her and suddenly holds up a cup and with a straw in her hands. 

“Here. Hang on, I’ll move the bed up.”

“What?” 

Kimberly leans down, and suddenly, Trini’s moving up slightly, her body bending as the bed does and she hisses in pain as Kimberly stops and looks up at her with wide eyes.

“Does it hurt?” She asks. Trini grits her teeth as she looks around the room she’s in now that she’s in a slightly seated position. 

She’s in a hospital.

“Why am I in a hospital?” She whispers hoarsely. Kimberly sighs and moves the cup up to her lips, holding the straw in place as Trini sucks the water in slowly. 

“You don’t remember the attack?” Kimberly asks gently. Trini frowns, closes her eyes…

Evan and Ty.

Fuck, yeah…she remembers.

“Fuck.” She says simply. Kimberly grips her hand.

“I’m so sorry-.”

“Don’t you dare. What…what happened?” Trini asks, opening her eyes and looking at Kimberly in shock.

Kimberly has tears in her eyes as she bites down on her bottom lip to stop it from trembling.

“Ty tried to grab me…you tried to stop him and Evan just…he punched you. You fell and he started kicking you in the stomach, and Ty pulled him away and they ran. I didn’t know what to do, I called 911-.”

“Where are they?” Trini asks, her jaw clenched tight, and Kimberly shakes her head.

“I don’t know, Trini, but the police are handling it, I promise-.” Trini scoffs.

“Evan’s brother is on the force, Kimberly-.”

“Evan’s brother is one guy!”

“With a lot of influence.” Trini hisses. Kimberly shakes her head.

“No. They’re gonna find them, okay? You just…god, you need to rest, okay? Your mom went out to get you food, she’ll be back soon. She’ll be so happy to see you’re awake…” 

Trini frowns, but settles back against the pillows. 

“How injured am I?” Kimberly swallows the lump in her throat.

“Uh…I think they said a concussion and a few broken ribs…you need to rest.”

“I’m resting, look.” Trini relaxes against the pillows, and Kimberly sighs. 

“I’ll be back, I’m just gonna go to the bathroom, alright?” 

“Okay…come here first.” Kimberly frowns, makes her way to Trini, who grips her hand and pulls her close, and Kimberly chuckles before leaning down and pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth.

“Rest.” She says, pushing her back down onto the pillows.

“Yeah, yeah…”

-

Diana returns half an hour later.

As soon as she opens the door, Trini’s head snaps up, and she hisses in pain as her head throbs, but as soon as Diana’s eyes land on her, she rushes to her side.

“Trini-.”

“I’m okay. A little bruised and battered, but feeling okay.” Trini says immediately with a smile, but Diana cries anyway, rushes to her side and sits on the bed before wrapping her arms around Trini gently and hugs her, and Trini collapses against her mother’s shoulder with a sigh, breathing in her mother’s scent, and she immediately feels her body relax, as if it subconsciously knows she’s safe now-

“I brought you KFC. The line was so long, my god-.” Diana holds up the bag, and Trini groans and grabs it.

“Thank god, I don’t want to survive off Hospital food. Kim, come get some.” Trini says. Kimberly, who’s seated on a chair in the corner, smiles and shakes her head.

“I’m okay.” 

Trini frowns.

“Oh…did you eat while I was sleeping?” Trini asks. Kimberly nods.

“Yeah.” Diana frowns.

“I thought you were with the police the entire time giving your statement.” Kimberly hesitates.

“I ate while you were gone. She woke up about twenty minutes after you left.” She says hastily. Diana nods.

“Oh okay.” 

Trini watches Kimberly for a long time.

“You sure?” She asks. Kimberly chuckles and walks over to her before pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“Enjoy your chicken.” Trini sighs, and she’s about to reply when the door bursts open-

And Zack walks in.

“TRINI!” Zack runs straight to her, and Diana claps a hand to her forehead.

“Oh god, I forgot to tell you, Zack, I’m so sorry, I’ve just been so scattered-.”

“I saw the police earlier, but I didn’t think anything of it until one of the doctors said your name just now, are you okay?” Zack asks, looking over the bruises on her face. Trini sighs.

“I’m fine, Zack.” Zack growls under his breath.

“Who did this?” He hisses. Trini clenches her jaw.

“Ty and Evan Tucker. Don’t worry, the cops are gonna get them, alright? How’s your mom?” Zack shakes his head.

“Trini, those assholes-.”

“The police will handle it, Zack.” Diana says, and Zack looks at her before shaking his head in anger.

“Why the fuck would they attack you?” He growls. 

“It’s a long story-.”

“It’s my fault.” 

Kimberly’s voice is quiet, but unmistakable, and Trini immediately shakes her head.

“Kim, no.”

“Ty is my ex-boyfriend, and he saw us together-.”

“So what? You’re allowed to move on after what he did, alright?” Zack says, but he’s looking at Trini as if to say ‘you’re dating Kimberly Hart?’ and she has no idea how to reply to him as Kimberly wipes away her tears and suddenly grabs her jacket.

“I should go. I shouldn’t even be here, this whole thing is my fault-.”

“Kimberly, the only person at fault here is Ty and his friend. And don’t worry, they’ll get what’s coming to them. I have some of the best lawyers in America on my team, their parents can expect a call.” 

Kimberly looks at Trini, who watches her for a long time before sighing and sitting up a little straighter in her bed.

“Can I have a second with Kim?” Trini asks Diana and Zack. They both nod slowly, Diana leaning in and pressing a kiss to Trini’s forehead before resting a hand on Zack’s shoulder and leading him out of the room. 

“Kim…”

“Ty wouldn’t have attacked you if-.”

“Ty didn’t attack me, Kim, Evan did, and I’m pretty sure him attacking me had nothing to do with you or Ty. He attacked me because he’s a homophobic asshole. Either way, he was gonna hurt me. You’re not to blame for this.” 

“Amanda’s the one who put ‘dyke’ on your locker, the one who started the rumors, and it was because I kissed you at that party-.”

“If we were to do that bullshit, we’d have to go back to who gave you the alcohol, then who provided the person who gave you the alcohol the alcohol, and so on and so forth, and then I’ll be suing some beverage company for insane reasons, just like that logic is insane. Kimberly, please-.”

“We can’t do this.” Kimberly whispers. Trini frowns.

“Do what?”

“This. Us. We can’t…if someone finds out you’re gay, Trini, what’s going to stop everyone at Angel Grove attacking you? I can’t risk it, I can’t risk you-.”

“Kim, come on-.” Trini’s heart rate monitor starts beeping rapidly, and she leans forward with a wince as Kimberly smiles sadly, tears falling down her face before she rushes forward and cradles Trini’s face in her hands, kissing her deeply.

Trini responds feverishly, grips Kimberly’s shirt and pulls her in closer, tries to get her to stay, but she’s already gripping Trini’s wrists and pulling her away-

“I’m sorry.” She whispers.

“Wait…wait, don’t…”

Kimberly pulls away, makes her way to the door before Trini can stop her.

“KIM, WAIT!” Trini reaches down for the needle sticking in her arm, about to pull it out of her body and go run after Kimberly-

“TRINI, STOP!” 

Diana’s rushing into the room, pinning Trini’s arms down to the bed as she thrashes against her.

“Stop, I have to get to Kim! MOM, PLEASE!” 

“Trini, you are injured, you’re not going anywhere, stop this.” Diana says calmly, holding her down with barely any effort. 

“Mom, Kim…she…”

“I will talk to her, you stay here and you rest, please?”

“But-.”

“Trini, I already thought I almost lost you tonight, I am not going through that again. Stay in bed. I will talk to her.” Diana says firmly through slightly gritted teeth, and Trini glares up at her before seeing the look in her eyes and nodding.

“Fine.” She grumbles, resting back against the pillows. Diana stands and makes her way to the door, pulling it open and rushing toward the entrance.

She sees Kimberly waiting outside for what Diana presumes is her parents to pick her up, and Diana sighs and makes her way over to her slowly. 

“You know you can’t just run off on her like that. She almost tore out her IV to get to you.” Kimberly jumps at the sound of her voice and turns, and when she sees Diana, she purses her lips and shakes her head.

“She shouldn’t bother herself with me. I’m nothing but bad news for her. First I kissed her and Amanda defaces her locker, then I try and get close to her and Ty and his friend attack her…she deserves better.” Kimberly says, her voice shaking like crazy as tears fall down her face. Diana buries her hands into the pockets of her jacket and shrugs. 

“The crazy thing about love is that sometimes it chooses the people we really shouldn’t love. Maybe you think you are bad news for her. But trust me, the way I see it…the only way you could ever be bad news for her is if you personally ever tried to hurt her. Which you haven’t. I know you care about her, Kimberly. I can hear it in your voice when you talk about her…I can see it in how you’re selflessly choosing to leave when you care about her even more than she cares for you.” 

Kimberly shakes her head.

“People are just gonna keep trying to hurt her, I can’t-.”

“People are going to try and hurt her no matter who she dates. Homophobic people aren’t going to disappear just because you don’t date her, Kimberly. Trini is going to deal with people like that her entire life. It’s your choice whether or not you want to be by her side and hold her hand to remind her that she’s loved when she encounters people like that or not.” 

Kimberly hesitates, and Diana sighs.

“Or is it yourself you’re worried about? Are you worried that ‘dyke’ will be spray painted on your locker next? That you’ll be on the end of the next beating when someone sees you holding hands with her? Are you afraid of the looks and the stares you’ll get every time you’re with her?” 

Kimberly’s tears fall faster now, her teeth clamping down on her bottom lip as she squeezes her eyes shut and shakes her head.

“I don’t want to be afraid of that…” She whispers hoarsely.

“But you are.” Diana says simply. Kimberly’s bottom lip trembles as she opens her eyes and looks at Diana.

“My parents don’t even know…God, I don’t even know…”

“You don’t need to figure it out right now, Kimberly. But if you love Trini…if you care for her…you’ll do what’s best for you both.” 

Kimberly swallows her tears.

“Staying away from her.” She concludes. Diana chuckles.

“No, Kimberly. Staying by her side and letting her be your strength as much as you are hers.” 

Kimberly stares at Diana for a few moments before there’s the sound of horn honking, and Diana turns to see a car pull up beside them.

Kimberly’s parents.

“Think about what I said. Go home, get some rest.” 

Kimberly’s father gets out of the car, looks at Kimberly in shock. 

“We got here as soon as we could! What happened, honey?” Kimberly’s father rushes over, hugs his daughter tightly as his wife gets out of the car and does the same. 

“I’ll explain later, can we just go home?” Kimberly whispers. 

“Of course honey, let’s go.” 

“Let her get some rest. She needs it after tonight.” Diana says. Kimberly’s mother looks at her in confusion, and Diana smiles.

“I’m Diana Prince. My daughter was…attacked tonight, Kimberly witnessed it.” Kimberly’s mother’s eyes go wide.

“Oh god! Oh god, I’m so sorry! I…the police called us, but we were at a conference in L.A, we drove here as soon as we got the call! Oh god, how…how is she?” 

“Bruised and battered, but…thanks to your daughter, her attackers were identified and should hopefully be apprehended soon…like I said, it’s been a long night, Kimberly should get some rest.” 

“We’ll take her home, please…if there’s anything we can do…”

“I’ll let Kimberly know. Goodnight, Mr and Mrs. Hart.” 

“Goodnight Miss Prince. Give your daughter our well wishes.” Kimberly’s father says as he ushers Kimberly into the backseat. She simply raises a hand in thanks, watches as their car pulls away before sighing and making her way back inside the Hospital. 

As soon as she enters the room, she finds Zack holding Trini to his chest, hugging her as she cries into his chest, and Diana’s heart breaks at the sight. 

“Zack…” 

She wants to be alone with her daughter.

Zack looks up at her, seems to get the message and nods once before standing.

“It’s gonna be okay, Trin…she’ll come around.” Trini sniffs, sinks back against the pillows with a whine, and Zack sighs and makes his way over to Diana.

“I’ll just be in mom’s room…”

“Go get some rest. Be with your mother. I’ve got her.” Diana says, giving him a reassuring smile. Zack gives her one back before leaving the room, closing the door behind him silently.

Diana sighs and makes her way to Trini, sits down on the bed right next to her as Trini looks up at her with bloodshot eyes.

“What did she say?” She whispers hoarsely. 

“I spoke to her…tried to make her see reason…her parents came and picked her up, so she’s heading home, hopefully to think about what I said…” Trini’s bottom lip trembles as she shakes her head and presses the palms of her hands against her eyes, fresh tears falling as she does, and Diana coos softly.

“She’s worried, Trini. If you two go ahead with this, it’s not only you that’s coming out, it’s her too. She’s not ready-.”

“That’s why we agreed to keep this secret-.”

“Secrets get out, Trini. They always do. Look what happened when Kimberly kissed you. You were outed within days. If Kimberly’s seen hanging around you all the time, the same rumors will attack her, and she’s scared. Understandably. This isn’t just about wanting to make sure you’re safe, it’s about her safety, too. She cares about you so much, but maybe that’s why she thinks staying away from you is what’s best.”

“Mom, I…fuck, I care about her so much-.”

“I know, Trini, shh…I talked to her…hopefully she listened. But I need you to focus on something else.”

“What?” Trini breathes, wiping her tears away and sniffing. Diana brushes her fingers through her hair.

“Healing. And the court case that’s going to follow this.” Trini frowns.

“Court case?” Diana nods.

“Laurel’s coming.” Trini’s eyes widen.

“Wait, Laurel? As in Laurel Lance? As in Laurel Lance of Laurel and Co. Lawyers? As in-.”

“The best lawyer in the United States of America? Yes. She’s going to be representing you in your case against Ty Fleming and Evan Tucker.” 

“We’re…we’re suing them?” 

“Well, technically you are. But yes. For battery and assault with intention to cause bodily harm. Laurel will go over it with us when she arrives. The point is, it’s going to be an open/close case, and we’re going to make sure those boys get the correct punishment.” 

“And what’s that? A slap on the wrist and a fine?”

“Mmm, I’m thinking more along the lines of a huge fine, community service, possibly juvenile correctional facility imprisonment…we’ll see.” 

“Jeez…juvie? Really?” Diana’s expression turns stony.

“They attacked you, Trini. This could have been a lot more severe. A concussion and broken ribs is no joke as it is, a broken rib can puncture a lung and cause it to collapse, which equals death. A severe head trauma can lead to brain damage which can also lead to death-.”

“Mom, I’m okay-.”

“You could’ve died, Trini. That’s my point here. You could have died, and I’m not going to sit idly by while those boys get away with it. They’re going to suffer, whether it’s through the justice system or something else.” 

Trini blinks, and Diana huffs before nodding down at the bag still on Trini’s table.

“Now…eat your chicken.” 

-

Trini is discharged a week later, told to rest as much as possible and to apply ice to her ribs as often as she can to help keep swelling down.

She’s on two different medications to help the swelling, and the doctor shows her a few breathing exercises to help her ribs heal. 

Take it easy.

Kimberly hasn’t messaged her or visited her since she left.

Take it easy is the last thing she’s doing.

“Trini, medication!”

She sighs and breathes deeply, winces at the pain it causes in her body before she sits up slowly and clambers out of her bed, makes her way to the door and heads down the stairs gingerly one step at a time. 

When she reaches the bottom and heads to the kitchen, Diana is already holding out her two pills with a glass of water in her hands, and Trini rolls her eyes, pops the pills and drinks them down. 

Diana pats her head, and Trini grumbles before slowly sitting down at the seat behind the island in the middle of the kitchen with a wince.

“Laurel will be here by tomorrow morning. She’s already gotten into contact with Evan and Ty’s family lawyers. She’s pretty sure this isn’t going to go to full blown court, it’s all pretty straight forward, there’s witnesses, the marks on your body…like I said. Open/close case. She said she’ll fight for the worst punishment possible…she can’t guarantee we’ll get it because they’re minors, but she’s the best, so…” 

Trini simply nods, and Diana sighs and runs her fingers through her hair. 

“You think you’re ready for school on Monday?” Trini shrugs.

“Have to go back eventually.” 

“Mmm…I’m proud of you.” Trini simply nods, and Diana tucks a finger under her chin.

“Still nothing from Kimberly?” Trini bites down on her lip and shakes her head.

“Nope.” Diana purses her lips.

“She’ll come around.” Trini simply nods.

“I’m going to bed.”

“Okay…goodnight, Trini. I love you.” Trini smiles, hops off the stool before walking around the island and hugging Diana lightly.

“I love you, too.” Diana sighs and presses a kiss to her head, and Trini sighs and makes her way back up the stairs slowly, wincing with each step before she finally reaches her room.

And Kimberly’s sitting on her bed. 

Trini freezes in the doorway in shock, blinks a few times as Kimberly looks up at the sound of her arrival. 

“I came through the window…might’ve cut my hand open on the vines…” She mumbles. Trini shuts the door behind her.

“Diana’s right downstairs.”

“I know, I’ll…I’ll be quick.” Trini’s heart sinks.

“What, here to tell me it’s over between us?” Trini says coldly, crossing her arms over her chest. Kimberly looks up at her, and there’s something different in her eyes.

No tears.

No sadness.

Kimberly stands and makes her way over to her slowly, her eyes moving up and down Trini’s body, and she uncrosses her arms, watches her gaze before Kimberly touches a hand to her cheek and kisses her softly. 

Trini blinks in surprise for a moment before finally closing her eyes and responding, her hands resting on Kimberly’s waist, and Kimberly whines and deepens the kiss, pulling Trini closer, and Trini isn’t sure what’s going on, only knows that it’s getting a little difficult to breathe and her ribs are on fire-

“Kim, wait, stop, ow.” Kimberly pulls away immediately, eyes wide in surprise, and Trini chuckles, breathes in deeply and winces in pain before looking at Kimberly with a raised eyebrow. 

“Sorry, my ribs…” Kimberly blinks.

“Fuck, I…I’m sorry, I didn’t think-.”

“No, it’s okay, I…what’s going on?” Trini asks softly. Kimberly smiles, shakes her head and takes a deep breath in.

“Uh, well…school has been horrible without you, but I’ve been hanging out with Jason and Zack and Billy…they’ve been making it a little more bearable. Everyone knows what happened and has been trying to get details out of me, but Jason and Zack have been by my side telling people to fuck off, so that’s been great-.” 

“Kim…” Trini says softly, and Kimberly hesitates before she nods.

“I…had a long time to think about what your mother said, and about…everything. And I’m sorry I haven’t spoken to you or even texted you I just…I needed the time to think about what I want, what I need to do for myself and…” She trails off, and it’s silent for a long time before Trini leans in a little.

“And?” She whispers gently. Kimberly bites down on her bottom lip before looking Trini in her eyes.

“I want you. I want us. I don’t care what anyone at school says, I don’t…I don’t care about any of it. I…I came out to my mom and dad. I told them I’m bisexual, that I was on a date with you and…they were surprised but so supportive, Trini, and it just hit me that…god, I don’t need anyone else, I don’t need any else’s goddamn opinion of me to matter, I just…I need the people who do support me. My parents, and…and you. I’ve been trying so hard for the last three years to make people like me, to be this perfect person and I’m just…god, I’m so tired. I’m so tired, I just want to be me, I want to be me when I’m with you, I-.” 

Trini cuts her off, kisses her deeply, and Kimberly chuckles, pulls away and peppers kisses all over Trini’s face before gripping Trini’s hands and looking at her solemnly.

“There’s…there’s something I have to tell you first, though…there’s another reason why I haven’t texted you.” 

Trini frowns, but nods.

“Okay, let’s…let’s sit. Come on…” Trini grips her hand, leads her over to her bed, and Kimberly licks her lips before sitting down beside her. 

“You’re not in pain?” Kimberly asks, and Trini waves her hand nonchalantly.

“I just took my meds. I’m okay. Go on.” Kimberly grips her hands again, and Trini squeezes them in an effort to show support. 

Kimberly breathes in deeply.

“I…when I started dating Ty, or…well, really, a few weeks before I started dating Ty, I…Amanda told me that I could afford to lose a few pounds and because of that, I…I kind of became obsessed with my weight and losing it and, god, I was around just shitty, shitty fucking people, and being around Jason, Zack and Billy helped me realize that, being around you helped me realize that…”

“Kim, what are you trying to say?” Trini breathes. Kimberly sighs.

“I…I have an eating disorder. I’m trying, I have been trying to…to eat more this last week, but I keep mentally beating myself up, and my mom noticed it and spoke with me for a long time, trying to get me to see reason, and I know, I know I have a problem now, but I can’t stop myself from feeling guilty every time I fucking eat something-.”

“Shh, shh, listen, Kim…I know me telling you that you’re beautiful the way you are isn’t gonna help, but I’ll be there however you need me to be, okay? Whenever…whenever you’re feeling guilty, or you’re feeling like you shouldn’t eat, you call me, you let me bring you back, let me help you see reason, I’ll be there through it all, I’ll support you, no matter what-.”

Kimberly cuts her off again, kissing her deeply, and Trini kisses her back, sighs against her before pulling away and shaking her head.

“I’m serious. I knew something was wrong but I didn’t wanna push it, but I’m gonna do everything I can to help you, I promise, okay?” Kimberly nods, licks her lips before kissing the corner of Trini’s mouth.

“God, this is why I knew I wanted this. Wanted you…you’re…you’re everything I could ever want, Trini. You’re so supportive, and so…perfect.” Trini chuckles.

“I’m not perfect, Kim. Far from it, actually.” Kimberly shakes her head.

“Maybe…but you’re perfect for me.” Trini smiles, and Kimberly leans in and kisses her again.

“Thank you. I appreciate it. I’m working on it, and my mom said she’ll keep an eye on me, but…I just don’t know how I’m gonna stop myself from thinking those thoughts, god…Amanda and Ty got into my head so much…”

Trini frowns, then nods.

“My bag…it’s under my bed. Can you grab it for me, please?” Kimberly raises an eyebrow, but ducks under Trini’s bed and grabs her bag before putting it down in front of her. Trini pulls out one of her books and a pen and quickly writes down a message before tearing the paper out and handing it to Kimberly. 

“There. Whenever you feel like shit. Whenever you feel like things are getting tough…you read that.” 

Kimberly goes to open it, and Trini stops her.

“Nope. Only when you’re going through a tough time. You read it now, it loses meaning.” Kimberly chuckles and nods.

“Okay. I won’t. I promise.” Trini smiles, and Kimberly puts the note in her pocket before sighing.

“I should head back home…”

“Hmm, yeah…” 

“Detention was boring without you today.” 

“I’m sorry I missed it.”

“No you’re not.”

“No I’m not.”


	10. love me, love me like that (love me, give me some mad love)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from "Mad Love" by Sean Paul ft. David Guetta and Becky G.
> 
> We have reached the end of this story! I want to thank you all so much for all your support, I'm sorry I disappeared for a while, but thank you all for understanding that I was going through something personal and just needed time.
> 
> I hope you've all enjoyed this story, it's been a joy to write. I wanted to do a fic that explored the lives of Trini and Kimberly as teenagers, not as superheroes. Thank you for giving me the chance to.
> 
> That being said, please leave comments or send me asks at movinggforthesakeofmotion.tumblr.com! See you guys in the next one!

It’s the most amazing and infuriating thing Trini’s ever seen in her entire life.

Ty and Evan’s lawyers defend their actions with everything they have, trying to appeal to the judge to the fact that they’re young boys who don’t know any better, that they were somehow threatened by a five foot tall girl and a cheerleader, that they were scared and didn’t know what else to do, so they swung. Evan’s lawyer is trying to sway the blame onto Ty, while Ty’s lawyer is trying to swing the blame onto Evan.

Evan’s parents and Ty’s parents are seated behind them, Evan’s father looking furious, his mother looking anxious, while Ty’s parents both look like their happy their son is getting punished for what he’s done. 

Trini has Diana right by her side, and Kimberly is sitting beside Diana, her parents seated behind her as they watch the proceedings with anxious looks.

“As far as I’m concerned, given Miss Kimberly Hart’s witness testimony, Mr. Fleming didn’t even throw any punches. He didn’t engage in any violent behavior and in fact tried to stop the attack altogether! Mr. Fleming was simply trying to solve things with a girl he loved, and it turned into a terrible attack that should not have happened in the first place-.”

“The only reason Mr. Tucker attacked was because Mr. Fleming is his best friend! Mr. Fleming was upset and angry about Miss Hart ending their relationship, and due to the strong nature of their friendship, Mr. Tucker felt compelled to support his friend in confronting his ex-girlfriend! Miss Prince was the one who exhibited violent behavior, she shoved Mr. Fleming, and Mr. Tucker did what was necessary to protect his friend! Your honor, this is ridiculous, to put the blame on two young boys-.”

“Mr. Fleming is not to blame, he has done nothing wrong! Mr. Tucker is the one who attacked Miss Prince-.”

There’s the sound of a gavel banging onto a table loudly four times in succession, and Trini winces, her head pounding still from her concussion as the judge glares at the two lawyers angrily.

“Order! Calm down, both of you, I won’t have this incessant talking over each other! You’ve both made…compelling cases. I’d like to hear from the prosecution now, please.” 

Trini looks to Laurel.

Who’s sitting with her feet up on the desk, biting on an apple and smiling as she looks at the two lawyers in amusement. She chews on it before she looks up at the judge with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, it’s finally my turn?” She asks, and the judge rolls her eyes.

“Miss Lance, please…this is a court room.”

“Right, sorry, you’re right. I was just trying to uh…not fall asleep, excuse me.” Laurel throws the apple to Trini, who catches it in surprise, and she winks at Trini before swallowing the piece of apple in her mouth as she makes her way to the front of Ty and Evan’s table. 

Their lawyers glare at Laurel, who grins before turning to look at the judge. 

“What we have here is an open and shut case of first degree assault, your Honor. You can look at it a hundred different ways if you want. Mr. Fleming was upset that his girlfriend broke up with him, Mr. Tucker was protecting his friend by a woman half his size, you can swing it a hundred different ways, but it comes down to one thing and one thing only: these boys harassed and stalked not only Miss Hart, but Miss Prince, followed them from the theater to their car, and proceeded to intimidate and frighten them. When they tried to leave, Miss Hart was attacked by Mr. Fleming-.”

“Objection!” Ty’s lawyer stands angrily, and the judge raises a hand.

“Overruled, continue, Miss Lance.” 

“Miss Hart was attacked by Mr. Fleming, and Miss Prince was the one defending her friend with a simple shove to tell Mr. Fleming to back off. Which can what, equate to a bird shoving a lion? The fact stands, your Honor, these two boys are above average height and above average weight for their age, both are members of the high school football team, which means they’re not exactly on the lean side. They’re more brute, than brains, clearly-.”

“Oh come on!” Ty’s lawyer stands, and the judge bangs her gavel.

“Another outburst and I will throw you out of this courtroom!” She barks. Laurel smirks and continues talking.

“As I was saying, Miss Prince tried to stop her friend from being hurt, and in the process, was attacked by Mr. Tucker, who I may remind you, is 5 foot 10, and 195 pounds. Mr. Tucker saw it fit to attack and brutally beat a young woman who stands at 5 feet tall and 120 pounds, while Mr. Fleming stood by and did nothing-.”

“Objection!” Ty’s lawyer stands again, and the judge bangs her gavel onto the table.

“Overruled! I won’t say it again!” 

“You don’t have to say it again, your Honor. I’ll retract my previous statement. Yes, Mr. Fleming did pull Mr. Tucker away, but Mr. Fleming still harassed and stalked not only Miss Prince, but Miss Hart, with the intention of intimidating them and potentially causing them psychological harm-.”

“Objection!” Ty’s lawyer stands once again and the judge bangs her gavel again.

“Overruled! I am warning you Mr. Hanson, you will be removed from this courtroom so help me.” 

Ty’s lawyer sits back down, his expression murderous as Laurel scoffs.

“As I was saying, Mr. Fleming had every intention of intimidating and scaring them, which has not only caused Miss Prince physical harm, but has also caused Miss Hart psychological harm. I also have no doubt in my mind that Mr. Tucker’s attack on Miss Prince was premediated-.”

“Objection!” It’s Evan’s lawyer who stands this time.

“On what grounds? I have the proof I need in the fact that Mr. Fleming’s statement proves that Mr. Tucker was joyous and laughing after the attack, that he made homophobic and racist comments about Miss Prince, said she, and I quote, “was a dyke faggot and a dirty Mexican that deserved it”, is that not what’s written here, your Honor?” Laurel says, grabbing a folder from the desk and showing it to the judge, who reads over it with a frown before sighing once and looking up at Ty and Evan’s lawyers. 

“Mr. Fleming was upset and clearly traumatized by what happened, his statement shouldn’t even be taken as evidence!” Evan’s lawyer says in exasperation. Laurel scoffs again and looks to the judge.

“Mr. Fleming and Mr. Tucker attacked Miss Prince and you think he’s the one who walked away traumatized? Typical, isn’t it? You have to look no further than the fact that these two boys have rich, white men as their lawyers. This is an archetypical case of two white boys who figured they’d get away with what they’ve done because of the color of their skin…what I don’t think they realized is that the world is beginning to change. We don’t live in 1950 anymore, you’re Honor. This is not a case of ‘boys will be boys’…this is a case of assault, against a young woman of color whose sexuality, by the way, is no one’s business but her own. She shouldn’t have to fear being attacked because of the color of her skin or the gender she chooses to date…but these boys have made her afraid for life. Nothing will ever change that. And they shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it. Whether their skin is white or not.” 

Laurel makes her way back to Trini, gives her another wink before she sits down beside her, and Trini is so in awe of her that it takes her a while to process that she’s still in a courtroom until the judge sighs and looks between the two tables before nodding.

“We’ll take a recess…be back in this courtroom in five minutes, I’ll have my verdict by then.” She bangs her gavel onto the table, and Laurel grins at Trini, who watches Ty and Evan stand, their parents standing behind them as well, and both of them glare at Laurel and Trini as their lawyers usher them and their parents out.

“Uh…whoa.” Trini says, looking at Laurel, who nods.

“Yeah…they’re getting full punishment.” 

“How do you know?” Diana asks, leaning across Trini to Laurel, who grins.

“Because she only needs five minutes to deliberate.” Trini looks to Kimberly, who smiles softly and leans across Diana to squeeze her hand before she turns to her parents, who both lean forward to hug her. Trini sighs and grabs the folder beside her, opening it and looking at it.

“There’s so many charges here…first degree assault, battery, intimidation, harassment, stalking, hate crimes against race and sexuality-.” 

“Why, you got more to add?” Laurel asks. Trini looks up at her in shock.

“Isn’t there enough?” She says weakly. Laurel frowns and leans in, gripping her hand tightly.

“Trini, I know you’re a good person, but you need to stop being one right now. They attacked you-.”

“I know they did, well…I know Evan did, I don’t care about him, but Ty-.”

“Didn’t attack you, sure. But he still intimidated you, still felt it necessary to bring his equally large and buffoonish friend to threaten you and Kimberly. You can’t let him get away with scaring you. He knew, being a male, that you’d be scared of him if he so much as breathed in your general direction. It’s a stigma amongst men that will never, ever stop unless we start telling them ‘no more’. It’s time women started standing up against this toxic masculinity bullshit, and it starts here, okay? If you’re afraid that he’ll retaliate in some way, don’t be.” 

Trini takes a deep breath in and nods once, and Laurel smiles and squeezes her hand.

“Don’t worry. We’ll be out of here soon.” Diana squeezes her shoulder, and Trini turns to look at her with a soft smile. Diana returns it, leans in and presses a kiss to her temple.

“I’m so proud of you, little one.”

“Thanks, mom…” Trini leans into her touch, and she wraps an arm around her just as the door opens and Ty, Evan, their parents, and their lawyers come back in.

“You know I’ve heard a lot about you, Miss Lance.” Evan’s lawyer says coldly.

“All terrible things, I’m sure.” Laurel says with a grin. Evan’s lawyer’s jaw clenches, but before he can say anything, the judge walks back in, and everyone in the room stands as she does. 

“You may be seated.” She says, and everyone sits down, Trini wincing as Diana grips her hand and helps her sit.

Her ribs are still aching terribly, even though the attack was almost three weeks ago now. 

“I’ve reviewed all the evidence given to me from witness testimonies, as well as the police evidence gathered at the scene of the crime and the photos taken of Miss Prince’s injuries. I’ve also reviewed the charges you’ve laid out against the defendants, Miss Lance…” 

The judge is silent before she looks up at the defendants table.

“I hope you boys understand the severity of what you’ve done. But to make sure you do…in the case of Prince and Hart vs. Fleming and Tucker, I find Mr. Tyler Robert Fleming guilty of stalking, harassment, intimidation and intention to cause harm. I find Mr. Evan Seth Tucker guilty of first degree assault, battery, intimidation, harassment, intention to cause harm, and hate crime in connection to both race and sexuality of another. As such, both of you will be required to pay Miss Prince compensation for her medical bills, as well as a fine of ten thousand dollars each to both Miss Hart and Miss Prince. You will also both serve over 200 hours of community service, and will attend weekly anger management classes. As for you, Mr Tucker, you will be attending mandatory youth crime prevention classes at the Angel Los Angeles Juvenile Correctional Facility. Restraining orders have also been placed, with both of you to remain more than six hundred feet away from both Miss Prince and Miss Hart at all times for the next ten years, no excuses. You break any of these rules, any of them…and you will be serving time in the Los Angeles Juvenile Correctional Facility, or prison, should you very stupidly decide to break these rules over the age of 18. You’re both incredibly lucky you are not already serving time in the Los Angeles Juvenile Correctional Facility, so count your blessings. I hope you both learn from this. Attacking another person for their sexuality or color is not acceptable, under any circumstances.” 

Ty’s parents nod, both of them glaring at the back of Ty’s head angrily, and Evan’s parents look like they’re about to murder the judge.

The lawyers, on the other hand, look completely defeated.

Laurel, meanwhile, is leaning back against her chair with a Cheshire cat like grin. 

“Do you agree with these punishments, Mr. and Mrs. Fleming?” 

“Wholeheartedly, your Honor.” Ty’s father growls. 

“Mr. and Mrs. Tucker?” 

They’re both silent for a long time, and Mr. Tucker lets out a frustrated sigh.

“We don’t have much of a choice, do we?” He hisses. The judge raises an eyebrow.

“I can always send him to the Juvenile Correctional Facility, if you’d rather that.” Mr. Tucker’s eyes widen, and the judge doesn’t back down, stares back at him as he clears his throat and shakes his head.

“No, your Honor. We wouldn’t prefer that…we…agree, with the punishment.” He says, and he throws a glare Trini’s way.

And Trini find a strange wave of bravery run through her as she glares back at him just as coldly.

“Miss Prince, Miss Hart?” 

“Yes, your Honor.” They echo. The judge looks to Laurel, who nods once.

“If my clients are happy, I’m happy.” She says simply. The judge sighs and bangs her gavel onto the table.

“That’s that, then. Mr. Hanson, Mr. Hathaway, if you’ll proceed with your clients to the holding room, to sign the order forms, the same with you, Miss Lance, in a separate holding room, please.” 

Laurel stands and motions for Trini and Kimberly to stands, which they do, Diana and Kimberly’s parents following suite as the judge walks out, and Laurel sighs and grips Trini’s shoulder.

“Full punishment!” Trini smiles, and Laurel beckons Kimberly forward with a finger.

“Alright, follow me you two. Moms and Dad, you can follow too.” Trini rolls her eyes as Diana chuckles in her ear, and they all follow Laurel out of the courtroom, down the hallway, and into a door labelled ‘Holding Room 5’. 

Laurel opens the door for them, and they enter, Trini looking around with a frown.

It looks like an interrogation room.

“I know, it looks like an interrogation room, kind of is one to be honest.” Laurel says, echoing Trini’s thoughts.

“How long will this take?” Kimberly’s father asks.

“Not long, they’ll have us sign the forms before they get the boys to. Ten minutes, tops.” Laurel says.

“Thank you, Laurel. For everything.” Diana says, moving forward and embracing Laurel in a hug. Laurel chuckles and rubs her back.

“Of course. I’ve gotten Bruce out of the worst situations possible, this was a piece of cake. I’m glad I could help.” 

“You didn’t even have to try.” Kimberly says with a chuckle. Laurel grins.

“What can I say? I’m that damn good.” 

“Well, we’re grateful. Thank you, Miss Lance.” Kimberly’s mother says with a smile, and Laurel winks at them.

“I’m glad we got the restraining orders.”

“What do we do at school now, though?” Trini says with a frown. 

“They stay five hundred feet away from you.”

“I don’t even think the school is five hundred feet long.” Trini says with a frown.

“They should’ve thought of that before they attacked you. It’s not your problem, Trini.” Diana says with a frown as Laurel rolls her eyes.

“You’re too good a person.” She says with a sigh before looking at Diana and nodding at her.

“You get it from her.” 

“It’s not a bad thing!” Diana exclaims.

“It is sometimes.” Laurel says with a grin.

“I’m just glad Ty has to legally stay as far away from me as possible now. Every time I look at him and Evan, I just…” Kimberly trails off, and Trini smiles and reaches for her hand.

“I’m okay, Kim.” She says softly. Kimberly stares at her and purses her lips before nodding as if to reassure herself that she truly is. 

“Well, I’m glad you’ve moved on, Kimberly. Especially to someone who clearly makes you happy. I could tell something was wrong during your relationship with Ty, I should’ve spoken with you about it sooner…” Kimberly’s mother says with a frown, and Kimberly shakes her head.

“It’s okay, mom. It’s all behind us now, yeah? Let’s just get this over with and we can all go out to dinner and celebrate that this shit storm is over.” 

“Language.” Kimberly’s father warns.

The papers arrive eventually, Trini and Kimberly both signing them before Diana and Kimberly’s parents do as well, and Laurel signs the last piece of paper with a wide smile before clapping her hands together and looking to Diana.

“Alright, so…ready to go?” Diana nods and turns to Trini.

“Do you want to come to the airport with me to drop Laurel off, or would you rather I take you home?” 

“I kinda wanna just go home, I’m exhausted.” Trini says, wincing as her head pounds again, and Diana frowns.

“I don’t know, maybe you shouldn’t be home alone-.”

“I can come with, keep an eye on her while you’re gone.” Kimberly offers. Kimberly’s parents exchange looks before her father looks at her sternly.

“Look, you know I have nothing against you dating another girl, but that also means the same rules apply if you were dating a boy, Kimberly. I’m not exactly comfortable with the idea of you two being alone in an empty house-.”

“Dad, come on, she’s my girlfriend and she’s injured, the only thing I’m gonna be doing is looking after her! She can’t stay by herself, what if something happens-.”

“I’ll just go to the airport with my mom, it’s fine-.” Trini starts, but Kimberly shakes her head.

“You need rest, Trini. A concussion is no joke. You two should know that, Mr. and Mrs. Doctors.” Kimberly says, looking to her parents with a raised eyebrow, and Kimberly’s father sighs and looks at them both for a long time before her mother rolls her eyes and nods.

“Just…go. Your father needs to learn the art of letting go.”

“She’s my little girl!”

“She’s almost of age, for god’s sake, Andrew…go, keep an eye on her, we’ll expect you back home by curfew.” 

Trini grins, and Kimberly smiles and hugs both her parents tightly.

“Thank you.”

“I’ll drop her home as soon as I get back.” Diana says warmly, smiling at her parents, who both return her smile before walking out of the room.

Laurel lets out a low whistle, and Trini turns to see her looking between Kimberly and Trini with a grin.

“That’s so funny to me, how can your parents not tell you two are virgins?” Trini’s mouth drops open, and Kimberly turns beet red as Diana groans and shakes her head.

“Really, Laurel?” Laurel’s eyes widen and she shakes her head.

“Hey, wait no! It’s totally not a bad thing! You should lose it when you’re ready, I mean, whether it’s with each other, or-.” Diana groans louder and Laurel winces and purses her lips.

“You know what, I’m just gonna shut up-.”

“Yeah, good idea.” Diana, Trini and Kimberly say at the same time.

-

“So…that was a journey.” 

Trini chuckles, stops immediately as her head pounds, and Kimberly runs her fingers through her hair where her head is resting on her lap, looks down at Trini with a soft smile before she leans down and presses a kiss between her eyes. 

“I’m just glad it’s over. And that Ty and Evan got what they deserved. Wish we could’ve punished Amanda, too-.”

“Oh, we did.” Kimberly says with a grin. Trini looks at her in confusion, and Kimberly chuckles.

“Heard it through the rumor mill. Apparently her nose job didn’t go so well. You really fucked her nose up.” Trini grins widely.

“Really?”

“Mhmm, and she wants to press charges, but her parents think she got what she deserved. Amanda’s uncle is gay, and her mother didn’t take too kindly to hearing her daughter has been throwing around homophobic slurs, so…they said she can try and press charges when she’s 18, but by the time that comes around, no one’s gonna pick up a year old case. You’re in the clear.” 

“Yeah, apart from the detentions I have every Saturday until I graduate.” Trini mutters. Kimberly chuckles before reaching down to where Trini’s hands are resting on her stomach and interlacing their fingers.

“Well, at least you have those with me.” 

“That’s true.” Trini smiles, and Kimberly leans in, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth before she pulls back with a sigh. 

“God…it’s hard to believe less than a month ago I was dating Ty and was best friends with Amanda. I can’t even fathom looking at them, let alone hanging out with them and liking them-.”

“Crazy how shit can change, huh?” Trini says, wincing as she breathes in and her ribs flare with pain. Kimberly sighs.

“Does it hurt?” Trini shrugs and leans closer against her.

“It’s manageable.”

“Let me get you some pain pills-.”

“Nooo, don’t move.” 

“Why?”

“Comfy.” Trini snuggles closer, and Kimberly chuckles.

“Aw…so cute.” Trini wrinkles her nose at the word, and Kimberly taps her nose with her index finger, looks down at her watch before clearing her throat and leaning back against the couch.

“God…school is gonna be the worst tomorrow, huh? It’s gonna officially be out that we’re dating…the whole football team is probably gonna hate us-.”

“Except Jason.” Trini says, and Kimberly grins.

“Oh, yeah…maybe Jason will protect us from them-.”

“Jason literally threatened to punch anyone on the team who gave us shit. I think we’re in the clear when it comes to the football team.” Trini says with a chuckle. Kimberly sighs.

“Still…we’ve got the rest of the school to deal with. I haven’t gotten any shit from the cheerleaders, luckily, but I have a feeling when Amanda comes back, there’ll be hell to pay-.”

“Kim?” Trini interrupts.

“Yeah?”

“It’s dinner time.” Kimberly looks down at her sheepishly.

“Oh…didn’t notice.” 

“Yes you did.” Trini sits up slowly, and Kimberly hesitates.

“I…” Trini sighs and leans in, pressing a kiss to her cheek with a nod.

“I know. But no more skipping meals, remember?” Kimberly closes her eyes and nods once, taking a deep breath in as Trini takes her hand and gives it a squeeze.

“There’s some leftover spaghetti and meatballs, I’ll heat us up some.” Kimberly simply nods, and Trini stands slowly and makes her way to the kitchen just as the sound of a car pulling up echoes outside the door, followed by the front door actually opening as Diana walks in.

“Trini?”

“Kitchen!” Diana’s heels clacking against the tiled floor echoes as she walks in with a smile before looking around.

“Where’s Kimberly?”

“Living room. I’m heating us up some dinner-.”

“No need, I brought Chinese.” Diana says, plopping down a bag of three containers onto the bench top as Trini slowly puts the container of spaghetti and meatballs back into the fridge.

“Kimberly! Come here!” Diana calls out, taking her jacket off just as Kimberly enters the room.

“Chinese food!” Trini says with a smile. Kimberly bites her lip, and Trini catches her eye and makes the motion of breathing in deeply. Kimberly smiles, imitates her action before clapping her hands together.

“Looks delicious! Thanks, Diana.”

Diana, who had been busy on her phone, looks up with a smile.

“Of course, sweetheart. Dig in.” 

Trini hadn’t told Diana Kimberly’s secret, feeling it definitely wasn’t hers to tell, and that the more people knew about it, the more likely Kimberly was going to have difficulty overcoming her eating disorder, and she can tell Kimberly is grateful for it as she looks at Trini with a thankful smile as Diana grabs three plates from the cupboard.

“Laurel wanted me to tell you that if Amanda decides to press charges, she’ll be there in a heartbeat.” Diana says, looking to Trini, who shrugs and nods at Kimberly.

“Apparently her parents think she got what she deserved and refusing to let her press charges.” Diana’s eyes widen and she nods, impressed. 

“Well, that’s unexpected. Ty’s parents looked like they were pleased with the punishment Ty got as well. The only people who looked upset was Evan’s parents.”

“Yeah well, they’re all a bunch of racist assholes, pretty much everyone in Angel Grove knows that.” Kimberly mutters. Diana shrugs.

“Well, regardless…they got what they deserved. Now, at school tomorrow, Laurel told me that if they do anything at all that breaks the rules of their punishment-.”

“We can’t exactly control if they pop up around the corner and they’re not six hundred feet away from us, mom…” Trini says with a roll of her eyes. Diana nods.

“I know, but, Laurel said that if they don’t make an attempt to walk away and enforce the six hundred feet rule themselves, that you need to call the police immediately and tell them they’re in violation of their restraining order. They also aren’t allowed to talk to you, so if they do, call the police. She also said don’t be a good person and decide that they can get away with it, because if you do, they’ll think they can get away with anything.”

“She really hates me being a good person, doesn’t she?” Trini says with a chuckle.

Diana shrugs.

“She’s right. Sometimes being mean is the right way to go.” Trini nods, and Diana chuckles and leans in, pressing a kiss to her temple.

“By the way…”

“Mmm?” 

“I love you, little one.” Trini smiles and leans into her mother’s touch.

“I love you too, mom.” 

“Mmm…you didn’t get up to anything while I was gone, did you?” She mutters, and Trini groans and pulls away.

“Mom, come on…”

“It’s a valid question!”

“No it’s not!”

“Is too.”

 

-

At the end of it all, Kimberly is right.

The second Trini gets out of Diana’s car, literally everyone turns around to stare.

But for once, Trini finds herself not caring.

She gives Diana a wave, walks up the stairs, grins at a few people staring before she hears her name shouted out.

She turns just as Kimberly jumps up the last few steps and extends her hand, a wide smile on her face as Trini interlaces their fingers.

And then Kimberly leans in and presses a kiss to the corner of her mouth.

A few jaws drop open, and Trini can feel herself turning slightly red as Kimberly drags her along inside the school.

Jason, Billy and Zack are waiting for them as soon as they enter.

“Hey!” Jason grins, walks in step with Kimberly as Zack ruffles Trini’s hair with a chuckle.

“We making this all official now, are we, crazy girl?” Zack teases, looking down at Kimberly and Trini’s intertwined hands, and Trini throws her arm out and connects with his gut, causing him to groan in pain.

“Shut up, Zack.”

“I’m glad you two are being open about your relationship.” Billy says with a smile.

“Thanks, Billy.” Kimberly says gently, and Jason nods.

“Yeah, it’s about time. The entire football team keeps asking me, ‘has Kimmy gone lezzie on us?’ I swear, every single time I’ve wanted to kick someone’s teeth in-.”

“Well, you can tell them the rumors are true. Also, it’s called bisexuality, it’s a thing.” Kimberly says with a roll of her eyes. 

“It sucks that this all came out because of the court hearing, though. You guys should’ve been able to come out in your own time.” Billy says with a frowns. 

“Yeah, well…the world sucks, Billy. At least we’ve got you guys to lean on.” Trini says with a grin, and Billy puffs his chest proudly.

“Of course! You guys are my friends, I’d do anything for you!” Jason claps his shoulder with a wide smile.

“Right back at you, bud.” 

Biology drags on with a bore, and Trini can feel the stares on both her and Kimberly seated together. She can also feel the anxiety coming off Kimberly like a tidal wave, her leg bouncing up and down as she tries to pay attention in class, so Trini takes a deep breath in and reaches out under the table to take her hand.

Kimberly jumps a little at the contact, but smiles and gives her hand a squeeze, her eyes never leaving the board as she keeps their fingers interlaced.

It doesn’t take long for her leg to stop bouncing after that. 

Maths brings in the first time Trini and Kimberly have to separate, the both of them walking in separate directions down the hallway, constantly looking back at each other anxiously, and Trini can barely pay attention, has her eyes focused on the clock as it ticks down to lunch.

As soon as the bell rings, she’s jumping out of her chair and dashing to the cafeteria. 

She grabs their usual table, waits anxiously as the cafeteria slowly fills up with students, all of whom look at her as they pass, and she rolls her eyes as Jason and Billy make their way toward her, Zack joining them not long after.

“They’re still staring? Jeez, talk about not getting over it…” Zack mutters.

“I know, this should be old news by now.” Jason says with a nonchalant wave of his hand.

“Come on, let’s go get something to eat. Trini, you want anything?”

“I’ll wait for Kim, thanks though.” The boys stand and make their way to the cafeteria line, and Trini’s eyes roam all over the room.

Trini’s eyes finally zone in on Kimberly, who makes a beeline straight for her as she sits down next to Trini and leans in to whisper in her ear.

“I’m struggling.” She whispers. Trini frowns.

“Breathe-.”

“Breathing doesn’t work right now, Trini.” Kimberly hisses, and she closes her eyes and shakes her head as Trini sighs and runs her finger up and down Kimberly’s forearm.

“You have the note on you?” Kimberly blinks before turning to look at her in confusion.

“What note?”

“The note I gave you when you first told me about your…thing.” Kimberly frowns, but nods and reaches into her jacket pocket and pulls out the note. 

“I always keep it on me.”

“And you haven’t read it yet?” Kimberly shakes her head, and Trini nods.

“Read it now.” 

“You told me only to read it when I was feeling like shit-.”

“I think struggling to breathe properly officially counts as ‘feeling like shit’, Kim. Go on.” Kimberly frowns, but slowly opens the note before looking down and reading it.

Tears immediately well up in her eyes, and she looks up at Trini, her frown turning into a smile before she leans in and kisses her softly.

“Better?” Trini whispers against her lips. Kimberly sighs and presses their forehead together.

“Better.” She whispers back.

“Don’t forget it either.” 

“Trini…thank you.” Trini simply nods, and Kimberly interlaces their fingers and wipes away her tears.

“Let’s go get something to eat.” Trini smiles.

“There’s my girl.” Trini stands, and Kimberly’s hand falls out of hers as she looks down, her fingers brushing over the words on the paper.

_You’re beautiful just the way you are. Nothing will ever, ever change that._

“Babe?” She looks up as Trini tilts her head with a frown, and she shakes her head and shoves the letter back into her pocket before gripping Trini’s hand again and leaning in close to her.

“Trini?”

“Mmm?”

“I’m really glad I kissed you at that party.” Trini chuckles, leans in and kiss the corner of her mouth and nods.

“I’m really glad you kissed me, too. But do me a favor?” 

“What?”

“Never wear that watermelon chap stick again.”


End file.
